We Were Close
by Half-Blind Otaku
Summary: An old flame from Blake's years in the White Fang catches up with her at Beacon, but what does she want? And can she be trusted, or resisted for that matter? I'd love to know what you think, so feel free to share your opinion with me.
1. Mina Carfax

**Author's Note: Okay, for real this time! For those of you who aren't familiar with my other story, "I'm Not Perfect," this story was originally an arc of that story, but I pulled it down because I found myself getting carried away from the original point of that story. I was not, however, about to let go of my OC, so instead (and after some editing) I moved her into a separate story and so here we are. I hope you enjoy reading Mina Carfax as I had writing her, enjoy!**

_Wait… Who's that?_

Team RWBY had Professor Oobleck's class first period that morning, but while Oobleck was indeed present, sipping his coffee in a rare moment of stillness. Less routine was the presence of Professor Goodwitch and the Faunus girl beside her, wearing a Beacon uniform. Goodwitch was plainly waiting for all of the students to take their seats before she spoke, and her expression reflected no abundance of patience as Jaune stumbled into the room, barely on time, and made his way to his seat. Ruby seemed transfixed upon the unfamiliar newcomer, and the speculative whispers of their classmates did not escape Weiss's attention. In particular, she heard Cardin mutter something like "Great, _another freak._" Weiss winced; she'd had a similar, if somewhat less pejorative knee-jerk reaction, but preferred to dismiss the assumption in light of Blake's situation.

_They're not all with the White Fang, _Weiss reminded herself, _She's probably got nothing to do with them. _

Weiss glanced across the room to see what the only present Faunus of her acquaintance thought. Velvet appeared interested-, shy as ever, but interested, as evidenced by her wide eyes and somewhat eager expression, but Blake… Blake was unmoved, or perhaps stoic was a better word for it; either way she wore her usual blank expression. Perhaps this was because her Faunus identity was still something of a team secret, and thus she didn't want to betray that fact, but still…

_I'd have thought she'd be more interested…_

Once all had settled into their seats, Oobleck moved to the fore of the class in a blur, "Good morning and welcome all! Before we begin this morning, Professor Goodwitch has an announcement to make!"

In an instant, Professor Oobleck was once again standing back by the blackboard, sipping his coffee.

_How much caffeine-?_

"Yes, thank you Professor Oobleck," Goodwitch acknowledged, accepting the floor, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to take a moment to introduce you to a new classmate," she gestured to the Raven-haired Faunus girl beside her, who gave a little bow, "This is Mina Carfax; she has been enrolled here as an exchange student following her experience in Vale during the Vytal festival. As of today she is a first year student like all of you," Goodwitch cleared her throat, turning her attention to Team RWBY, "As she is not currently attached to a team, Professor Ozpin has decided that, until such time as Miss Carfax can be placed on a more permanent basis, she will be temporarily placed with Team RWBY,"

_What?_

The other members of Team RWBY appeared equally surprise, though the manifested their surprise in different ways. Ruby appeared to waffle between excitement and trepidation; as comfortable as Team RWBY had gotten with one another, it was easy for Weiss to forget that the only things that Ruby ever exhibited fear of were _other people _who meant her no harm. Weiss couldn't help but chuckle at the though, as she looked to her other side. Yang seemed enthusiastic, if only at the prospect of a new face to tease. Blake, however, remained stone-faced.

Weiss was distracted from her reverie at the sound of a soft but confident voice, "Yes, good morning, I am indeed Mina Carfax, and I look forward to studying with all of you," she had a thick, but still comprehensible accent, "I do hope that my presence will not be too great a hindrance,"

Goodwitch nodded her approval of the girl's polite and succinct introduction, "I expect all of you to make her feel welcome; good day,"

With a quick nod to Professor Oobleck, Goodwitch clasper her hands behind her back and proceeded out of the room.

Weiss took a good, long look at Mina Carfax as she crossed the room to the row at which Team Ruby at.

The newcomer had raven hair, not unlike Blake's, and also not unlike Blake, she had her animal ears atop her head, though she made no attempt to conceal them, not that she could have; Carfax's bat ears were a bit larger than Blake's animal ears; they were situated near the back of her head, just in in front of a set of silver crossed silver rods around which her hair was tied back in a shoulder-length ponytail. A bigger attention-getter was her eyes: they were blue, a shade at least as pale as Weiss's own, and more unnervingly, her pupils were only a scant shade darker. For that matter, her skin was also nearly as pale as Weiss's own. She was like a ghost.

The newcomer lowered her hand to the desk and traced her fingers about the edge as she walked to the edge and up to the bench to take seat next to Ruby, "May I sit here, Miss Rose?"

"Uh… Yeah! Please do! Glad to have you on the team!"

The newcomer smiled closing her pale, pale eyes as she did so, "Thank you; I am honored to be here,"

Ruby got a better look at the girl's eyes as she opened them again, her own silver ones going wide, "What's wrong with-,"

Weiss elbowed her in the side, whispering a reprimand, "What's wrong with _you?_" She was curious herself, but you didn't just come right out with questions like that.

"But-?"

"I appreciate your consideration, Miss Schnee, but I am not offended," Mina assured them, "Miss Rose is hardly the first to notice,"

Weis and Ruby were nearly flattened on their desks as Yang reached across both of their backs to offer Mina a hand herself, "Yang Xiao Long; Nice to meet ya,"

"Yang-!"

"Miss Xiao Long," Professor Oobleck took a sip of his coffee, "While I do appreciate that you wish to acquaint yourself with your new teammate, but for now please, take a page from Miss Belladonna; it is time to begin class."

"…Sorry,"

A few hours later, Teams RWBY and JNPR were seated at their usual lunch table, and most of them were taking turns posing questions to the newcomer. Most that is, except for Blake and Weiss.

"So what's that you're drinking?" Nora asked between mouthfuls of cheeseburger, "and where's the rest of your lunch?"

Mina laughed, as though humoring a small child, "It's fortified tomato juice; I suffer from a chronic iron deficiency, among other… specific nutritional needs,"

Blake winced.

_What was that?_

"You're seriously not gonna eat _anything?_" Yang asked, shoving a slice of into her mouth, and nonetheless continuing to speak, "…'Cause…. I bet the lunch-ladies could-," she swallowed, "-could work somethin' out,"

"No thank you," the Faunus declined with a grin.

_Were those Fangs?_ Weiss blinked a few times to ensure that her eyes weren't deceiving her, but the opportunity had passed. The bat-Faunus' mouth had returned to a more neutral closed-lipped smile that Weiss recognized all too well; it was the polite smile born of necessity rather than sincerity, _Who is she?_

"I don't eat much either way," Mina replied, "But I appreciate your concern,"

"So what kind of weapon do you us?" Ruby asked; she'd been waiting for the opportunity to ask this all day, "I mean-, if you're gonna be a huntress-in-training on Team RWBY, you've gotta have a weapon Mina-, oh, um… Can I call you Mina?"

"Of course," the new newcomer's smile broadened a bit, "My weapon is called the Sanguine Heart; as to what it is, well, that will be a surprise until combat drills with Professor Goodwitch- shortly after lunch if I'm not mistaken; it's just more fun that way,"

Crestfallen, Ruby's gaze fell to her lap as she resigned herself to wait a little longer.

_There's something off about her-, I know it… _Weiss couldn't tell what, but there was just something about Mina that she didn't like; was it the way she never quite looked at the person she was talking to, or was it just her unsettling eyes? Then a thought that she'd been trying to avoid occurred to her afresh and she cast Blake a guilty look, _Dammit Weiss! No! You are NOT like Cardin! _She prodded her salad with her fork.

"So uh…" It was Jaune's turn to ask a question, "What was the initiation like at your old combat school? They threw us off a cliff…"

"Oh my; mine was nothing so awful as that," Mina shook her head, "We only had to climb down a mountain, and up another,"

"Well at least there's you didn't need a landing strategy, I guess…"

"And back again,"

Jaune winced.

It did not escape Weiss that Pyrrha's polite smile broadened just a bit as Jaune's conversation with the other girl fell fallow.

_How does he not see it?_ Weiss's gaze shifted back to the bat-Faunus, _How do they not see it? Or… Is there anything to see in the first place?_

She swallowed, prodding her as yet uneaten salad some more.

Mina finished the contents of her glass and then stood, tugging gingerly at the lapel of her uniform blazer, "If you'll pardon me, I must needs change before our session with Professor Goodwitch, and I've yet to see my luggage since arriving,"

"Ooh!" Ruby sprang up from her seat so abruptly that she almost spilled Weiss's untouched salad, no doubt exited by the prospect of catching an early look at Mina's mysterious Sanguine Heart, "I'll show you to our room!"

"Why thank you Miss Rose," the Faunus gave that practiced smile again, "I couldn't ask for a better leader or host,"

"Well, I don't know about that…" Ruby blushed, scuffing her shoe on the floor in embarrassment.

_She's playing you! _Weiss wanted to scream, but she didn't; she couldn't tell if the alarms going off in her head were those of common sense or Father's influence talking again.

Weiss drove her fork into her salad so hard that it scraped unpleasantly against the bottom of her bowl as the others got up and get ready for the session with Professor Goodwitch as the newcomer had suggested. None of them seemed to notice that she wasn't following, but that was probably best; she wasn't sure that she could be civil right now.

_Clean slate Weiss... You owe her that much at least... You owe Blake that much..._


	2. Snap-Judgements

_Why is she here?_

Mina Carfax took the stage with Goodwitch's approval. She'd volunteered for the first round 'to properly introduce' herself, as she'd said. Her fighting outfit was the same as it had always been; a short-sleeve black blouse with matching fatigue pants and boots. Rounding out the ensemble were the fingerless black gauntlets that covered her forearms almost up to her elbows. The one splash of color that she wore was the string of red rosary beads about her neck.

_She hasn't changed a bit… _Blake thought, _Right down to her damn-creepy eyes…_

"Now then," Goodwitch turned back to the assembled students, including all of Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CRDNL as she mulled over whom precisely to choose, "Mr. Winchester?"

Blake wanted to peel that smug smirk right off his face as he accepted, "Alright, but I'm not goin' easy on her just cause she's new,"

_Not so new as you think jerk, _Blake shook her head, _he could seriously get hurt…_

The sound of the gym doors opening and shutting behind her caught Blake's attention as Cardin move up to the stage; It was Weiss, just entering the room now.

_She's late? Late to class?_

Weiss didn't join her teammates at the front of the crowd of spectators though, instead, she watched from the rear, her face a scowl. Admittedly, it was rare that Weiss could be seen in a genuinely good mood, but this… this was different somehow. Blake glanced back at the stage, back at Mina, at her bat ears, at the eyes, and realization dawned on her.

_It's Mina… She bothers Weiss…. I can't believe she can still be such a shallow-! _Blake didn't finish the thought, _It's not fair… she's rushing to judgment again… and she's absolutely right this time…_

Blake's attention was jolted back the stage as Goodwitch spoke again, "Today's first match, Cardin Winchester versus Mina Carfax, will now begin!"

And so it did as Cardin hefted his mace and Mina drew a pair of thin metal stakes from the sheaths at her hips.

Blake's brow furrowed, _what about Sanguine Heart?_

Cardin made the first move, not that it would've mattered had it been anyone else.

_Mina Carfax never makes the first move.._.

Before he could take the second step forward though, Mina pitched both of the stakes straight for his head; they were halted only by the protection of his aura.

After flinching at the sheer suddenness of the attack, Cardin quickly recovered, a hateful sneer on his face, "Oh you're gonna have to do better than that freak!"

He charged at the ostensibly disarmed Faunus girl across the stage from him, winding up with his mace. Mina dodged him to the side, reaching into one of her pockets as she did so. As Cardin wheeled about for another stroke, his opponent threw a small object to the ground, and suddenly the combatants were enveloped in smoke.

"…But that's no fun…" Ruby pouted as the action continued, obscured by the grey haze, "and her weapon was kinda… well…"

Blake almost assured her team leader that Mina hadn't actually used Sanguine Heart yet, but she caught herself; until she knew _exactly _what was going on here, she wasn't going to risk backing Mina into a corner, "Yeah,"

"Hey, uh… guys…" Yang was pointing up to the display that projected Cardin's aura levels, "Am I seeing this right?"

Blake and Ruby looked up, following the blonde's pointing finger; Cardin's aura was sinking like a stone. Blake wasn't surprised, but Ruby's jaw dropped, "How's she-, I don't get it- What about his armor?"

As Ruby was puzzling over how exactly Mina was doing it, she emerged from the thinning smoke, springing backwards. She shuffled to the side to avoid another swing of Cardin's mace as he stumbled out of the fog. Despite dwarfing Carfax's svelte frame in size, the leader of Team CRDNL was not anywhere near fast enough for her. Then she finally brought out her Sanguine Heart.

Mina threaded the fingers of her right hand into a set of steel rings on the wrist of her left gauntlet and then pulled her hands apart again. To the casual observer, it looked like a needless gesture, but Blake caught the glint of the high-tinsel strength razor wires as Mina drew out her true weapon's first few feet. Cardin, however, failed to notice, and came at her head-on again. Mina rolled to the side to avoid the swing, but not without slinging a length of the cord between his tried to pivot for another blow. Springing back to her feet, Mina yanked on the lengths of wire with both hands, undermining Cardin's footing. As he fell, Mina retracted the lengths of wire to pull it away from her falling opponent's foot, then teasing an even longer length of the deadly cable and slung it overhead, clotheslining Cardin as he fell forward.

_Okay, this is getting out of hand, _Blake panicked, her hand going for the Gambol Shroud, _She might actually hurt him…_

Cardin's aura dipped into the red.

"Miss Carfax, that's enough!" Goodwitch ordered, and suddenly the razor wire disappeared back into her gauntlets.

With an innocent look on her face, Mina stepped away and let her defeated opponent stagger back to his feet. Cardin, on the other hand, had a shocked look about him, fingers shaking as he felt a little trickle of blood welling up at the small cut on the side of his neck.

Blake shivered; _It's always to first blood with her…_

"Winner, Mina Carfax!" Goodwitch announced by way of confirmation, "Though in future, Miss Carfax, do refrain from inflicting actual injury on your opponents,"

Mina nodded apologetically in Goodwitch's general direction, "Yes, of course Professor Goodwitch,"

"Me next!" Yang's hand shot up before Blake could stop her, "She beat that jerk so fast-, I gotta go a round!"

"Miss Xiao Long," Goodwitch shook her head, "You've already had three matches this week with Miss Nikos; give someone else a chance,"

Yang frowned, a note of frustration entering her voice, "I wouldn't call those _matches…_"

Of all their friends, Nora was the only one who couldn't muster the tact to refrain from chuckling aloud; Yang hadn't won any of them.

Mina hopped down from the stage and headed over toward Blake, Yang, and Ruby as a spooked Carding Winchester made his way off in a daze, "So, what do you think?"

"Wire?" Ruby asked incredulously, "How do you fight Grimms with that though?"

"Yeah…" Yang was a bit more perceptive that her sister, "Ya could've killed him there though…"

Mina tugged on one of the rings, then let it with draw into the gauntlet again, "You might be surprised how well razor wire works on _monsters_, but given that armor he wears, well…" she looked a bit ashamed for the first time, "Garroting was the best option,"

_Liar, _Blake thought to herself, skin set crawling by the effortless manner in which such awful words passed her lips,_ even Cardin doesn't deserve a brush with death for your amusement!_

"Oh, but where is Miss Schnee?" Mina asked, looking somewhere between the two sisters.

Blake's eyes narrowed, but then she composed herself, "She's over by the back of the crowd; wait here-, I'll see about bringing her over. She probably just didn't want to force her way to the front,"

"Very well," Mina Carfax shrugged, then added with a sly smile that neither Ruby nor Yang caught, "and do hurry back, dear Blake,"

Weiss got the sudden urge to slip back out of the room again as she saw Blake heading her way, but she thought better of it, _You can't hide from her forever…_

"Weiss!"

"Y-yes, Blake?" Weiss swallowed.

Blake's expression flickered, though Weiss couldn't tell what it was that flashed across her teammate's face, "Mina… Mina wants to know what you thought of her match.

"She was great," Weiss said half-heartedly, and continued with even less enthusiasm, "I suppose it was high time someone took Cardin down a peg…"

Blake chewed her lip, though what her conflict was, Weiss could only guess at. Perhaps Blake also thought the strangulation had been a bit excessive, but Weiss supposed that it was equally probable that her teammate was just too tactful to confront her on her hypocrisy when they'd only so recently come to argument on the subject before the Vytal festival.

_But I don't have an excuse this time… _Weiss admitted to herself, then bit her own lip, _I wasn't really being fair then either though; Blake didn't do anything to deserve that… But I can't just forget about Uncle…_

"Weiss, what's wrong?"

Blake's voice jerked Weiss back to the present, "I- Nothing,"

As the next match began-, a terrified Dove Bronzewing set against a giddy Nora Valkyrie-, Blake shook her head, "We both know that's a lie-,"

"Okay fine!" Weiss snapped, though not forgetting herself to the extent that she'd allow her voice to rise above a hoarse whisper, "She bothers me, Blake! I'm sorry-, It's not fair and I know I shouldn't, but- but-," Tears welled up in her eyes and she clutched a fistful of her own silvery-white hair and gave in to the urge to flee the room.

"Weiss, wait-!"

She didn't. Instead she just ran, all the way back to the dorm.

_I can't believe that I actually said something so awful…_

She slammed the door behind her and curled up on her bead, hiding under her comforter as the tears streamed down her face, _It was a horrible thing to say- I'm… I'm awful… Why? Blake and Velvet don't bother you-_

That didn't make it easier though; she knew exactly why Blake and Velvet didn't make her feel this way. By the time she'd learned that Blake was a Faunus, they were already well enough acquainted, and gentle, quiet Velvet…

_The damn animals should know their place_

_No! I love you daddy but… that's not right…and… _

Weiss swallowed,

"The White Fang _are criminals but…_"

_It isn't fair to hold that against all Faunus…_

The door creaked open and Weiss tensed, clinging to the blanket all the tighter.

_She probably hates me now. She's got every right to. _

"Weiss."

_Go ahead, say it. _

"I'm sorry,"

_What?_

Blake walked into the room and sat on the bunk across from Weiss, letting out a heavy sigh, "I shouldn't have pressed you like that,"

Weiss remained silent.

"Looking back on our last fight," Blake continued, a pensive look on her face, "I got on my high horse and condemned from ignorance; exactly what I was accusing you of…"

Weiss choked back the self-loathing, "But you were right all along-,"

"No," Blake shook her head, a sad smile playing over her lips, "your father might be a genuinely racist bastard, but he's _your father, _and…" Blake hesitated, "I guess they- _we- _the White Fang didn't help,"

Weiss took a few deep breaths and made a more concerted effort to compose herself, "I still shouldn't be this way; she hasn't done anything to me…"

"I'm guessing you never met many Faunus before coming to Beacon?" Blake asked.

Weiss shook her head, swallowing the lump in her throat again.

"I thought not," Blake nodded, "Given what we did to your family though… Old habits die hard I guess…"

Weiss was stunned, "Blake, I-,"

"That doesn't mean that you're _right _to think we're all monsters," Blake cut her off, but her tone softened, "I guess what I'm saying is… I understand,"

Weiss nodded, letting the comforter slip away and wrapping her arms around her knees, "I want to be better, Blake, I really do,"

Blake nodded again, "I believe you, and for what it's worth, the fear tactics were the reason I left the White Fang,"

Weiss wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, "Thank you Blake, now I… I guess I need to apologize to Mina…"

Bake's ears twitched, a gesture that Weiss interpreted as confirmation, _I think we both need to change, Daddy…_

_Why? _Blake screamed inside her head, _Why did it have to be Mina?_


	3. Old Friends

**Author's Note: Alright, so here's a little fleshing-out for those of you interested in Mina and her history with Blake. Please, enjoy, and let me know what you think.**

Ruby frown as she scribbled down a summary of the properties of various types of Dust forth the _third time. _She had not done well on their last exam in Dust Studies, and Weiss took exception to that.

"I will not stand for a lack of competence in my Team Leader!" Weiss had proclaimed upon seeing the dismal forty-two Ruby had received, "I shudder to think what Father…" Weiss's rant had dropped off at that point, and her voice mellowed, "We'll be going over this later."

On reflection, it had been a weird incident; not the yelling-, no, that was what she'd been expecting when she'd first clapped eyes on the grade herself. I when Weiss had mellowed out that she threw Ruby for a loop. Not that it mattered; as it was, Weiss was forcing her to write the lines of notes over and over _and over again_; _apparently _repetition was good way to commit things to memory.

_Dust is a volatile energy propellant which must be handled with care…_

_Dust is a volatile energy propellant which must be handled with care… _

_Dust is a volatile energy propellant which must be handled with care…_

It was around the time that Ruby's mind started wandering and she began writing on auto-pilot that the doorknob began to turn, thus providing the distractible team leader a concrete topic on which to waste her attention.

_Is it Yang? No… She and Blake have a class right now… Maybe Jaune… OOH! Maybe it's Nora! She'd be more fun than this…_

Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby saw her partner tense up a bit, but she quickly relaxed, "Hello Mina,"

_Was she really that surprised that someone came in? Well… then again… we've only known her a couple days, so I guess she just isn't used to Mina yet, _Ruby shrugged to herself, _She is kind of… different… I mean, not Penny different, but… different…_

"Ah, Miss Schnee… and…" Mina's oddly colored eyes narrowed as her face took on a searching look, "Miss Rose?"

"Yep, that's me," Ruby perked up in response, cocking her head, "You can just call me Ruby though… I mean… You're _older than me_… so…"

Mina shrugged, "Old habits, I suppose,"

"Do you…" Weiss seemed unusually hesitant, "Do you not have class?"

Mina smiled, though her lips did not part, "Not at present; I've just come from the library. I was hoping to procure a more… accommodating edition of the texts for our classes,"

"What do you mean, _accommodating?_" Ruby asked, "What's wrong with your books?"

"Nothing, Miss Rose," Mina shook her head, waving an open hand in front of her face as she pulled out a chair and taking a se at the table with them, "The issue here is with these eyes of mine,"

"You're blind?" Ruby asked, aghast; it made her win over Cardin all the more awesome somehow.

"As a bat, you might say,"

"I thought that might be the case," Weiss nodded, speaking again in that weird, mellow tone that Ruby found unnerving, if only because it just _wasn't Weiss, _"It does explain why you never quite look at people,"

Mina nodded, inexplicably donning an understanding smile as her head turned more or less in Weiss's direction, "We all have our crosses to bear, Miss Schnee; what matters is how we carry them,"

Weiss nodded silently.

_What is up with her?_ Ruby wondered momentarily, before her renewed fascination with Mina's condition, "But why would you want to be a Huntress then? Or… how do you do it… I guess…"

"I have very good ears," Mina winked sightlessly as she gestured to the bat ears near the back of her head, "All I need do is listen carefully,"

"Whoa,"

"That said," Mina continued, "the fact remains that, for the next few days, I am without textbooks; would you mind too terribly if I were to join your study session?"

Weiss stared into her textbook, then shook her head, putting on a smile, "Of course,"

_This is weird, _Ruby thought to herself nearly an hour later, _Mina knows all the right questions to ask..._

Normally, Ruby would just sit there and pretend to listen while Weiss lectured- sometimes out of the book, and sometimes about Ruby's '_irresponsible'_ approach to leadership-, and not really paying attention in either case. It wasn't that Ruby didn't want to do well at Beacon or anything; there was nothing she wanted more than to become a huntress after all, but studying was _just soooooo booooring! _

_And besides, _she rationalized, _Isn't being a huntress supposed to be about hunting monsters? Magic rocks are neat and all, but that's not what I came here for…_

Now though, with Mina there to actually care about the material and ask useful questions, Ruby found herself riveted as Weiss explained the passages and their new teammate listened attentively, posing questions ad asking Weiss to re-read complicated passages from time to time. At some point in the last half hour Ruby found that she was actually learning; it was a bizarre and frightening realization.

Eventually though, Weiss finished the chapter and closed the book, "I think that's enough for today," she said, "but if you fail the next quiz, Ruby, so help me, I have you transcribe the entire chapter next time!"

"But the chapters are like… fifty pages…" Ruby whined.

Mina chuckled, "You two are adorable,"

The partners went beet-red.

"E-excuse me?" Weiss asked, a hesitant tone creeping into her voice.

"You've got a chemistry," Mina clarified, "pretend not to like each other all you like, but I imagine that you're both better off having one another to lean on,"

Weiss looked like she wanted to object at first, butt to Ruby's surprise, she gave a little nod instead, "I guess I can't let myself get caught up in my own baggage if I have to look after you, can I, you dunce?"

Ruby smiled worriedly, remembering the talk that they'd had after the practice match with Team JNPR, "Yeah… I'd probably be a mess too…"

_I can handle a fight, but this studying? Uuugh! I wouldn't do it at all if she didn't make me! _She sighed, _And then I'd probably fail out of Beacon…_

"I'm glad you're here for me," Ruby agreed, _She's actually admitting that she doesn't hate me! I mean… we made some progress a while ago, but she's actually saying it-, sure, she's being kinda backhanded about it, but still!_

"Now all you need do is take your relationship to the next level with a kiss," Mina smirked.

_Wait, WHAT?_

"Excuse me?" Weiss demanded, a horrified look on her face, "I think perhaps you've been reading Blake's smutty romance-,"

Mina waved her hand in front of her sightless eyes again, grin broadening.

"Ugh! How lewd can a person be?"

"Yeah Mina!" Ruby objected as well, "That's so not funny!"

"I kid, of course," Mina assured, if only after she got a grip on her laughter at the expense of her study partners, "No need to get upset,"

"Here I thought that you were being deep-, and it was a _punch line?_"

"What's a little fond ribbing between friends?"

Mina's response seemed to give Weiss pause too, "Friends huh? I-," a little smile replaced her angry expression, "I guess we are…"

_There's that look again… _

"At any rate," Weiss stood now, as she had been about to before Mina's little joke, albeit in a much better mood, "I think perhaps we've all earned a snack; I'll take you both to this nice café in town for a crepe-,"

Mina shook her head apologetically, "I appreciate the offer, but coffee and sweets don't agree with me; don't let that stop you though,"

Ruby's jaw hit the floor, "Even cookies? How do you live without cookies?"

Weiss rolled her eyes, but Mina just gave a smile, only just broad enough to expose her fangs, "I am actually partial to the blood of younger women and high-born virgins,"

Red and white alike blanched in dumbstruck horror.

"Speaking of, Miss Rose, if I'm not mistaken, you are only fifteen…" Ruby paled as Mina let the implication hang there meaningfully, "and you, Miss Schnee…"

"Uh-, I-," Weiss reddened again.

Mina broke out into cackling laughter again, "That's just precious! This could only be better if I could see the-," she actually snorted in her laughter, "If I could just see the looks on your faces!"

"R-Ruby!" Weiss stammered, "Come! We're leaving!"

"Mhmm," Ruby nodded meekly as Weiss dragged her bodily from her seat and out of the dorm, still spooked as Mina's laughter resumed in gales.

* * *

As a flustered Weiss stormed out of the dorm, dragging a pale Ruby behind her, Blake stood back and let them go. Fascinating as it would be to know what had set Weiss off this time, and why, for that matter, why she was literally hauling Ruby in tow, this was an opportunity that she couldn't let slip past her. Yang had gone to the gym right after class had ended ten minutes ago, so Blake now had an opportunity to confront Mina privately; there was no guarantee about when she'd next have this chance. Taking a deep breath, Blake entered Team RWBY's dorm once Weiss and Ruby turned the corner down the hall, never having so much as acknowledged her presence.

"Mina,"

The little red book snapped shut in Mina's hand, "Ah… My dear Blake,"

"What are you doing with Weiss's diary?"

"So that's what this is?" Mina asked innocently, "I had assumed that it was hers; the material feels expensive," Mina's thoughtful look cracked into a grin, "Though I never did learn to read,"

"Don't dodge the question," Blake said firmly, "Put that down and step away from Weiss's desk,"

Carfax obeyed, setting the book down and stepping back to lean up against the wall next to Weiss and Ruby's bunk-bed, "You've made some nice friends here, my dear Blake; Miss Schnee in particular… Such a lovely voice… At any rate, now that it is just the two of us, I am certain you have questions for me; perhaps I have some answers for you-, for old time's sake, of course,"

Blake's eyes narrowed, _What's her angle? _"What are you doing here?"

"You'll have to be a touch more specific, my dear Blake,"

"Why did you come to Beacon?" Blake demanded, having no patience for Mina's games.

"Why, I'm studying to be a huntress, of course,"

"Don't lie to me!" Blake exclaimed in hushed tones so as not to be heard outside and closed the space between them, and lowered her voice to a threatening whisper, "Like Hell!"

Mina chuckled, "Fine, my dear Blake, you've got me; I'm here to see _you,_"

Blake remained silent.

"Adam was very disappointed when you abandoned us after the train job," Mina rewarded Blake's patience with further explanation, and a sorrowful look, "and I personally was hurt to hear it,"

"I'm not going back to the White Fang, Mina, I left for a-,"

Mina took hold of Blake by the chin and pulled her, wide eyed, into a sudden passionate kiss. Though long absent, it was not an alien sensation that flushed through Blake as Mina's fingers reached up and ran through her hair and began stroking ears hidden under her bow. Blake almost lost herself in those pale, empty eyes as Mina's hand released her chin and moved to the small of her back. It was only when she felt the familiar pricking sensation on her lower lip that she jerked away, hand snapping up to cover her bleeding lip, but Mina spoke fist, a self-satisfied grin on her face.

"I can't tell you how much I've missed you, my dear Blake,"

"I-, I'm not your blood-pack Mina!"

Mina looked genuinely hurt, "You haven't missed me? I 've missed you so… I thought we had something…"

"I left for a reason, Mina," Blake repeated, resolve somewhat shaken, "I won't be a part of the violence anymore,"

"You always were an idealist," Mina muttered with a disappointed sigh, "Fine; you want to know why I've come? The sad fact, my dear Blake, is that you know too much. You might've been allowed to do as you liked had you simply _behaved yourself,_" Mina's voice took on a pleading quality, much to Blake's surprise, "_but you had to get in the way…_"

"What do you-?"

"Torchwick's heist on the wharf, Blake!" Mina drew herself away from the wall, "Because you decided make an obstruction of yourself, Adam can't trust you to keep quiet and stay out of the way, and so here I am,"

"He sent you to kill me?"

"He sent me to deal with you," Mina corrected, "I was hoping that I could… _persuade _you, without resorting to any regrettably unpleasantness,"

"I'll go to Ospin-,"

"Don't bother," Mina rolled her eyes, "I am quite certain that he knows about me, and _you _for that matter; I'll wager that he sees my presence as some sort of test,"

_That's definitely something he'd do, _Blake thought, "And what if I refuse?"

"Then you pass Ozpin's test, I suppose," Mina shrugged, "and unpleasantness may ensue,"


	4. It's a Date, Then

**Author's Note: Alright, so here's the next one. I know more or less where I'm going with this, but I am always open to suggestions if you have them. I hope you enjoy it, and please, review; I can't improve without feedback.**

_Unpleasantness may ensue? _Blake shivered, _But is that genuine threat, or is she screwing with me? _She pulled further away from Mina, ironically, it was Blake herself who felt cornered, _She's right though… I…_

"My dear Blake," Mina's voice was sympathetic as she reached out to touch Blake's hair, and gently stoked her cheek, having found purchase, "We want you back… _I _want you back… but you cannot avoid a decision forever,"

That was the last thing Mina had said before leaving Blake alone with her thoughts. She was left standing there, staring at place that Mina had been standing. Was it the hair? Her figure? Those knowing, unseeing eyes? She couldn't place it; there was just _something _about Mina… She was a tease who spoke in partial truths and loaded questions, but…

_No! _Blake shook her head, _She's dangerous, and you have to be careful…besides… _Blake told herself, _you have new friends, and a new partner now…_

* * *

Yang Xiao Long hit _send _on her scroll before putting the barbell she'd been working with on its rack and shaking some of the tension out of her arms, a mischievous grin on her lips, _that'll be fun later… _

"AWESOME!" Her spotter shouted in a singsong voice, bouncing on her heels and completely uninterested in text-message conversation Yang had just concluded with her sister, "One hundred forty-five pounds! That's like, more than _TWICE _what Jaune can lift!"

Yang grinned, "That ain't sayin' much Nora,"

Nora giggled, "He is kinda… flimsy,"

"Yeah," Yang wiped sweat from her brow with her towel, "Well thanks for spotting me Nora,"

"Anytime! Well… unless I'm too tired or I've got plans with Ren or something…"

Yang laughed, "Right," she slung the towel over her shoulder, "Well, I'm gonna got hit one of the punching bags; later,"

With an enthused series of nods and a wave goodbye Nora took her leave ad Yang moved on to the part of the weight room near the entrance where were hung the punching bags and pull-up bars were fixed to the wall. Tossing her hair back over her shoulders, Yang settled on one of the bags and took a boxing stance. Right, left, right, right, and a roundhouse kick set the bag twisting on its chain and swinging like a pendulum. It was a cathartic exercise, but not as good as a _real_ fight; that time in Junior's club… _now that really got her blood pumping… _

"IIs that you, Miss Xiao Long?"

Yang halted her flurry of blows as she was snapped out of her reverie to acknowledge the voice, "Yeah, that's m'name, but drop the 'Miss,' and you can just call me-,"

Yang's response stopped short of completion when she looked around the punching bag to greet her oddly formal new teammate; what she found opposite the punching bag was not at all what she'd been expecting.

_She talks all prim and proper, but damn…_

One couldn't say that Mina's ideas about gym clothes were impractical ones, but all things considered, they were rather bold nonetheless. Her usual ponytail was held in place with elastic, rather than her typical silver needles, but that was easily the tamest change. While her color scheme remained determinately black, compared to her regular combat outfit, well… there was considerably less of it. Sports bra, gym shorts, and sneakers; that was about it. No one would have suspected her of corpulence, but dressed as she was now it was even more apparent that she was lean and fit, without excess bulk, save perhaps her defined, if not quite pronounced abs. To top it all off, while she wasn't on Yang's own level, she could definitely give Pyrrha a run for her money in certain areas.

"Well somebody's bold," Yang raised an eyebrow, aware of the numerous stares that her new teammate was attracting, _My stares. _

"Oh?" Mina seemed perplexed, "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Yang tried to choose her words carefully, she really did, but gave up in the absence of better words, "You're showin' a bit more skin than most girls who come in here… and some guys are staring…" _and NOT at ME! _

"Oh my…" Mina's hand moved to cover her mouth, "I hadn't realized…"

Yang couldn't quite place it, but there was _something…_ off about Mina's embarrassment… Then again, that might have been her ego talking; Yang was not used to competing for stares, least of all with a girl who couldn't even _tell _that she was being lusted after.

"Do you come to the gym every day, Miss Xiao Long?" Mina asked, draping her own towel over the nearest pull-up bar as she changed the subject, "It doesn't seem that the rest of our teammates are in the habit,"

"Eh," Yang shrugged, returning to her bag, albeit less intensely than before so as to continue the conversation, "Different strokes I guess; we don't all fight the same way, and some of us spend more time studying,"

"I suppose," Mina shrugged in return, reaching up to take hold of the bar with both hands, "speaking of, you and Miss Rose are sisters, are you not?"

"Yeah," Yang hit the punching bag a few more times, "I s'pose you wouldn't know that to look at us though,"

When she glanced back over her shoulder in Mina's direction again though, Yang was mildly surprised to find the bat-Faunus hanging from the bar _upside-down, _with her back to the wall.

Yang's arms fell to her sides, "Uh… What are you doing?"

Mina wove her fingers together behind her head with a smile, "Hanging crunches," she answered matter-of-factly, "It is an excellent workout,"

Yang thought to try it herself for a moment, but dismissed the idea upon the consideration that Mina's sports bra was better suited to combat gravity than her own singlet, "Huh…What do you do when the blood rushes to your head?"

Mina bent upward with a mild grunt of exertion until her head was above level with her heart, "You hold the upward position as long as you can," she relaxed and unfolded back to the resting position, "But what about you, Miss Xiao Long? I presume you favor your fists in combat?"

"Yup," she stuck the punching bag again for effect, "Good ol' fisticuffs and shotgun shells," she tugged at her collar a few times to air out a bit, "but that razor-floss stuff you used on Cardin was… interesting…"

"A woman has to use all her advantages," Mina responded without really explaining as she curled back up again.

"So which one's you uh… Sanguine Heart, was it?"

"The stakes and wire are a two parts of a whole," Mina answered, unfolding again, "So tell me, Miss Xiao Long," Mina curled up again, "You are Blake's partner, yes?"

"Yeah…" _What, not Miss Belladonna? _"What about it?"  
"Curiosity," Mina gave an upside-down shrug this time, "So that pairs Miss Schnee with your sister? Hmm…"

"I'm sure Ozpin's gonna find a match for you-,"

"No, no, I am quite happy where I am," Mina shook her head, "But answer me this: how did you two meet? During your initiation, I presume?"

"We ran into each other after killin' some Ursai, why?"

"It's best to know one's allies well, wouldn't you say?"

_Makes sense, _"I guess so," she threw a few more punches, "In that case though…" Yang thought it over for a moment, "I have a question for you,"

"Very well,"

"Why'd you wanna come to Beacon? I mean, transferring mid-semester's gotta be a hell of an inconvenience,"

"This is an excellent combat school," Mina responded, "and travel broadens the mind; visiting _interesting _places is an experience that is difficult to match, wouldn't you agree?"

_Interesting places huh?_

"Speaking of," Mina continued as she unbent herself for the twelfth or so time, "There's an _interesting _club in the city; apparently the place just opened up again after somebody made a wreck of it-, single-handed, if you can believe that,"

Yang's fist stopped inches short of the punching bag, _Does she know that was me?_

"At any rate," Mina curled up again, speaking through clenched teeth, "You seem the type to enjoy a good time; perhaps we could go visit it sometime,"

"Uh… sure…"

"Is something wrong, Miss Xiao Long?"

Yang shook her head, "Na, it's just been a while since I had a real night out; it sounds like fun,"

"It's a date then," Mina smiled as she dropped back down into the hanging position, starting to breathe a little more heavily.

Yang chewed her lip, _It handles gravity better than a singlet, but… _

"Saturday night then?"

_Why not? _"Sure, sounds fun,"

* * *

"Dammit Ruby!" Blake was finally wrested from her contemplation as Weiss stormed into the room, "I don't care what Yang told you, that was not a _date!_"

_Come again?_

"But Weiss!" Ruby whined as she followed Weiss in, "Yang _said that that café was a date spot _and-!"

"No!" Weiss wheeled around to face the younger girl, "Did it never occur to you that Yang was _screwing with you?"_

"Well, no, I-,"

_I don't think they've even noticed I'm here…_

"If _anyone _was _taking advantage _of that _monumentally thick skull of _yours, it was yours, it was _Yang_!"

"I'm sorry Weiss, I didn't-,"

"Think? No, you didn't!" Weiss shouted, "I have _never been so humiliated!_"

Blake let out a sigh of relief, _Just one of Yang's pranks…_

"Uh… Weiss…" Ruby had finally noticed Blake standing off in the corner.

"WHAT?"

"Blake's standing right over there…"

Weiss turned, "… Oh… well… Hello Blake…" she struggled to put on a less enraged face before turning back to Ruby, "We will discuss this later,"

Ruby swallowed.

"Do I want to know?"

"No,"

Blake sighed, _No harm done yet… _She smiled despite the circumstances, _and if she's not bluffing, I'm not alone… _


	5. Very Accomodating

**Author's Note: Okay, so I'm gonna lay down a warning right here for anyone who came to this from "I'm Not Perfect," this story is taking a bit of a different direction now that it's on its own, and I decided to cut loose on it a bit. Nothing too steamy, but if you notice differences in the characterization from my other story, that's why. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think; in particular, I'm interested to see what you think Mina's deal is- I'm trying to drop little hints about her character here and there, but I can only tell if I'm royally screwing it up if you all let me know what your impressions are.**

"Uh… Mina?" Ruby asked as she and Weiss examined the contents of their teammate's trunk.

"Yes, Miss Rose?"

"Do you own anything that _isn't _black?" Weiss gave voice to the concern.

Mina just shrugged, "I wouldn't know, but I'm told hot pink isn't my color,"

"Fair enough…" Ruby trailed off.

"You could probably do with a little color in your outfit though…" Weiss thought aloud

"Glass houses much, Weiss?"

"Shut up Rub!" the Heiress tugged at red on the lapel of her jacket indignantly.

"I appreciate the input, Miss Schnee," Mina said as she tossed her towel into the hamper on top of the black singlet that she'd slept in, "But my wardrobe has always been a simple affair for reasons I should think self-evident at this point. And besides," she jostled the string of red rosary beads currently laid out on a bedside table as she reached into the chest for a set of undergarments, "the beads suit me just fine,"

Weiss averted her eyes as a courtesy, but Ruby's eyes darted between Mina as she dressed and Weiss. The Heiress wasn't sure that she liked that look… "Mina… we do have a bathroom that you can change in…"

"Oh my… dreadful sorry," she apologized as she halted, stopping short of actually clasping the strapless bra behind her back, "I suppose this all seems wretchedly immodest…"

"No, no…" Weiss was just thankful she was covered again, before an awestruck Ruby got any weird ideas; she'd seen her fearless leader's sketch book before, and it hadn't been… Well, it had been pretty, but… "It's perfectly understandable; you're not used to seeing things after all, it only makes sense…"

"I appreciate your understanding, Miss Schnee," Mina said in a voice approaching relief as she went on to clasp the undergarment, "I've always been more… tactile…"

"It's all the same color but…" Ruby finally turned her attention back to the blind girl's open trunk, "you've actually got quite a variety here…"

"I've no eye for color, but I do like a different style now and again," Mina allowed, moving back to the heavy wood box, "Now which do you suppose I should wear for the night out?"

Mina held up a tube-top in one hand and a halter in the other, both showed for too much midriff for Weiss's tastes, though that admittedly wasn't saying much, "Well.. I wouldn't know…"

"The tube top! I mean…" Ruby's sudden assurance eroded, "'cause you've got such pretty skin…"

_Yang is such a bad influence…_ "Why thank you Miss Rose, I'm touched," Mina said appreciatively, setting down the halter-top and slipping into the other, "I've been told that before as well, but it's nice to hear it once in a while; much as I try to take care of myself, I cannot check the superficial details myself,"

"Oh… it's nothing…"

"Perhaps not… but..." Weiss commented hesitantly, "Don't get me wrong, your… abs are impressive but I'm not sure guys look for that…" The halt top still shoed off the last few inches of bare stomach, but it covered considerably more regardless, "You might scare them off…"

Mina shrugged again with a sly smirk, stepping forward to stroke Weiss's cheek, "Let them run; I'm more interested in what _you think…_"

Weiss's face flushed red and her eyes went wide, "Um…"

Mina laughed and patted Weiss on the shoulder a few times, "I kid, of course," she licked her fangs nonetheless.

_She was kidding about the high-born virgins thing, right?_

"Tube top it is!" Ruby cheered, taking the halter top and throwing it carelessly back into the box.

_I know that face! _Weiss fumed, still at an uncomfortable loss for words, _That's the sketchbook face!_

"Miss Rose, be a dear and pass me one of the fitted pairs of pants," Mina asked as she quickly sorted her hair into her usual ponytail.

"Sure thing!" Ruby eagerly obliged.

Moments later, the whole affair was done. The tub top covered just down to the base of her ribcage, pants were very form-fitting. Her hair was held in place by the usual silver needles and on her feet were surprisingly fashionable open-toed sandals. Topping it all off was the string of round red beads draped around her neck, which Weiss had to begrudgingly admit upon reflection, had a similar effect to the halter-top, and wouldn't have gone as well with it.

"I've got to say Mina," Weiss admitted, forcing herself to overlook the rather revealing nature of the ensemble, "you have impressive dress sense for one whose never been able to see…"

"Nonsense," Mina demurred, "I didn't personally select any of these items; I always shop with friends whom I trust,"

_And those friends let you buy nothing but black underwear?_

"I see… Well perhaps if you'll have us along sometime, we could put some color in your wardrobe?"

Mina smiled, "That would be lovely-, and by the way, my invitation stands, Miss Schnee,"

Weiss shook her head, "Nightclubs aren't for me, and besides," she gestured to Ruby instinctively, but caught herself when she realized Mina wouldn't see it, "Blake's been spending so much time in the library lately, so _somebody's _got to stick around to make sure that Ruby doesn't wreck the place,"

"Hey!"

Mina's face became pensive, "Yes… I suppose someone does…"

* * *

_Yup…_ Yang thought as she got off her motorcycle, _definitely the same place…_

The blonde put on her smuggest face as she sauntered over to the entrance; worst came to worst, she'd at least get a good fight out of it.

The doors slide open as she walked, allowing her entrance. the Music blared and she could already feel the atmosphere, _I wonder how Mina handles all the noise though?_

She shrugged off the thought as she continued in, down the stairs and across the room towards the bar. Yang couldn't help but be a little bit full of herself when she saw that more than a few of the regulars had the good sense to clear out of her way as she came.

"Strawberry sunrise," Yang ordered with a meaningful smile as she leaned onto the bar, but before she could request the little umbrella, the proprietor of the establishment showed himself.

"Oh God, not you agai-!"

"Relax Junior," came another familiar voice, "She's with me,"

Both Yang and Junior looked down the length of the bar to see Mina walking over, "I was wondering when you'd arrive, Miss Xiao Long,"

Junior grumbled something to himself, but let it go, leaving the bar.

_I'll be damned…_

"Eh, traffic, I guess. I take it you come here often?"

"It is an amusing diversion, yes," Mina acknowledged, "I first stumbled in during the Vytal festival, and I make a habit of coming back every weekend,"

"That right?" Yang accepted her drink from the bartender, disappointed somewhat by the lack of a little umbrella as she handed over the cash, "I wasn't sure they'd let us in a place like this…"

"I find that this establishment can be quite… _accommodating… _so long as you behave yourself," Mina shrugged, and then turned to the bartender to place her own order, "Virgin Bloody Mary,"

"Kinda an ironic choice there," Yang elbowed her jokingly.

Mina looked a bit puzzled, "Oh? We are minors after all…"

Yang snorted with laughter, "Not that; I mean you like it hot but you're asking for a virgin!"

Mina caught on, and donned her own sly grin with a wink, "If anyone is to be tipsy, I prefer to be the one with my wits intact; what point is there if you don't remember later, yes?"

That made Yang laugh aloud, "S'pose that's one way to look at it,"

Mina leaned up against the bar as she accepted her drink, "So, what do _you _think, Miss Xiao Long?"

"'Bout the club? It's pretty sweet I guess…" _I guess she doesn't know… _"But I told you before, call me Yang,"

From this angle, Yang could _really _appreciate the effort to which Mina had gone before coming. The pants fit Mina almost like a second skin, and the sandals definitely added a little somethin' something.' The tube-top was another bold choice, especially seeing as it didn't cover _quite enough _to be even loosely described as modest, and the way it hugged her curves didn't help. The real lynchpin of the outfit was the usual string of red beads though; against a new backdrop of smooth skin that really had a way of drawing the eyes where they probably shouldn't be looking…

"Miss Xiao Long?"

"Huh-? Oh, sorry, did you say something?"

"I take it you like what you see?" Mina smirked again.

_Is she talking about the club or could she tell… _"Uh… Sure! Sweet place alright, I'm not much of a dancer though…"

"Alas, neither am I," Mina admitted, turning her head back to gaze upon the void where anyone else would have seen the dance floor, "A pity,"

_Phew…_

"Tell me, Miss Xiao Long, have you ever had a crush?"

"Uh… Once or twice…." _might be workin' on a third though… _

"And how then, do you approach the object of your affection?"

"Well, there's always comin' right out with it…" _copping a feel doesn't usually work out so hot though… _

"Hmm…" Mina pondered the words thoughtfully.

"You… got someone?"

"I suppose that you could say that…"

"Can I ask who?"

"You may," Mina gave a wry smile, but didn't look in Yang's direction.

"You're really gonna make me work for this, aren't you?"

"I might,"

Yang took another sip of her Strawberry Sunrise. In all honesty, she hadn't really been expecting that the Barkeep would give it to her, certainly not without an ID, but apparently Mina was right; the place was _very _accommodating, if you behaved.

"Are you gonna tell me, or did we just come here for the pleasure of stranger's company?"

"Answer me this first, Miss Xiao Long,"

"Alright, shoot,"

"Have you ever kissed a girl?"

Yang almost did a spit-take, "Kina a personal question, don't ya think?"

"I am not much of a gossip, Miss Xiao Long, your secrets are safe with me,"

"… Once or twice…"

"I was hoping you'd say as much," a little smile tugged at Mina's lips, "I wouldn't want this to be any more awkward than it needs to be…"

_Calm down Yang, remember: you're the hottest one in the room…_

"… And I figured you would be the one to ask…."

_Is she playing coy? That's actually kina hot…_

But then Yang's anticipation was crushed, "Seeing as you'd know her better than anyone else…"

_Dammit! Wait… she wants your advice on hooking up with someone you know better than anyone… Oh, HELL NO!_

"You don't mean-,"

"Blake, yes," Mina admitted, completely oblivious to the sudden bout of protective sisterly rage.

"Blake? Oh…"

"Did you think I meant Miss Rose?" Mina raised an eyebrow, "She sounds adorable, but she is not my type…"

"And what is your type?" Yang asked, feeling a mix of relief and disappointment, "Is it the ears?"

"I wouldn't know," Mina lied, not that Yang could tell, "but there's just… something… about her voice, I think… Miss Schnee has a lovely voice as well, don't get me wrong, but… I fear that I still make her slightly uncomfortable…"

_That makes sense I guess… _Yang moped inwardly, suddenly self-conscious of her speech… _I guess voice make a bigger impression on you if your eyes don't work…_

"I dunno much about her to be honest, other than the fact that she's not really sociable," Yang answered truthfully, despite her dejected bitterness; the only thing she really _did _know about her partner's past was her history with the White Fang, and not much of that, even if it was her business to share that, "and she likes books a lot…"

"An irony to end all ironies…" Mina muttered, lifting her drink to her lips again, "Well, thank you anyway-,"

Before she could polish it off though, and inebriated dancer, well away from the dance floor, bumped into Mina, causing her to stumble and lose balance, Thinking fast, Yang caught her from behind and pulled her close, pressing the startled Faunus' back to her own chest, preventing her from spilling to the floor. The rest of Mina's drink wasn't so lucky, and wound up all over her.

"Well this is unfortunate," Mina muttered, less pensive this time, "I like the music, but all the damn noise means that I have to wear earplugs, and I can't be quite so aware that way; I do apologize Miss Xiao Long,"

Yang grabbed the rag from the barkeep even as he was wiping up a little melted ice, ignoring his protestations, "No biggie," she said as she reached around and wiped the spilled red drink off of Mina's bare stomach, "happens to everybody,"

It occurred to her then just how closely Mina was pressed up against her, _Damn it got hot in here… _she thought as her hands moved upward, dabbing the spilled drink off of Mina's tube-top.

Somebody whistled.

"Miss Xiao Long… I appreciate the gesture, but at least buy a girl dinner first..."

Yang's eyes widened as she realized, towel or no, that she had gotten to second base.

"Oh my god I am sooo sorry!" Yang let go and sprang back with such suddenness that Mina nearly hit the floor anyway, "I didn't mean to, honest,"

_You really really wanted to though… _

"It… It is fine," Mina said, patting herself down to check for the spill, and pulling her somewhat displaced top back up so that it fully covered her bra.

_More black huh…_

""In any event, you seem to have done a good job, so no harm done,"

Yang let out an audible sigh of relief, "Again, I am so sorry about that,"

"It's fine; we're both _girls, right?" _Mina winked, "You needn't apologize; we all make up for our shortcomings in different… _areas…_"

_Come to think of it, she could have stood up at any time before it got to that… _Yang thought, cheering up a little bit, _Guess I wasn't the only one coppin' a feel… Might just have a shot if Blake's not interested… _

* * *

Blake caught Mina bay the shoulder after Yang went into the dorm, "What were you doing with Yang?"

"Just a little night on the town, my dear Blake, is that jealousy I hear? It's adorable," Mina smiled in that meaningful, if not always sincere way she had.

It was half past midnight, "I swear if you hurt her-,"

"She's fine, I'm certain that you saw her," Mina cut her off, and tugged at her tube top, "and besides, if anyone was _taking advantage_ of the opportunities, it wasn't me, my dear Blake,"

_What the hell was that supposed to mean? _

Mina pushed Blake back into the wall by the shoulders and pressed herself in close, "But right now… I might feel like taking a little advantage…"

Blake's momentary alarm subsided in a thrilled rush as Min's familiar body pressed up against her for the first time in a long time and their lips met again; that memory was less distant, but it had still been too long. Blake let herself get lost in it-, there was no one around to see, and Yang had looked like she'd go out like a light when she'd entered the dorm, so she just let herself get swept away. Mina's hands moved to the small of Blake's back and pulled her closer still, and Blake felt her own hands moving up Mina's bare back, up an under the fabric…

_She tastes like…_

Her eyes went wide and she pulled away, "How could you?"

Mina seemed perplexed and annoyed, "A girl has needs-,"

"No!" Blake cut her off with a harsh whisper, "Whose blood is that on your lips?"

"So you got into it enough to taste… Progress…"

"Answer the question Mina!" Blake demanded, pushing her away as her own blood started to run cold.

Mina let loose an irked sigh, "If you must know, Miss Xiao Long can be _very accommodating _when she's had a few Strawberry Sunrises..."

"She's my _teammate-!"_

Mina silenced her with two fingers to her lips, "_Our _teammate, my dear Blake; and that aside, it was less than a pint, and I made certain that it will not leave a visible scar,"

"You _did _take advantage of her!"

Mina shook her head, as though correcting an errant child, "That is such a severe turn of phrase, my dear Blake, besides, I prefer to think of it as _compensation_ for a certain… blunder, on Miss Xiao Long's part,"

"I don't care _what _she did, you can't just _use her like that!_"

"For what precious little it may be worth, I bought all but her first drink,"

"That's supposed to make me feel _better _about what you did?"

"I'd happily leave her alone if _you'd _just come back to me, my dear Blake,"

It was a sorely tempting proposition, lent another fresh dimension with this most recent incident…

"I…"

"Shhhhh…" Mina moved in to kiss her again, "I can be patient about your long term decisions, my dear Blake, but for now… may we not simply enjoy the pleasure of each other's company?"


	6. Blood

**Author's Note: Okay, sorry about the wait; I'm kind of juggling more than one story at once. On the upside, we're coming back with some **_**action **_**(suggestive inflection optional) As always, please let me know what you think.**

Mina felt the snowflakes melt upon her face. The air was cold, almost bitterly so, but dead still. One less observant may have found the silence deafening, but she knew better; silence was the best evidence that one was being hunted. It was upon this realization that they had halted and sent Blake to scout ahead, and her teammates were now fanned out in a defensive perimeter as the four of them awaited her return.

_Take your time my dear Blake… best to take care and do things right the first time. Show your headmaster what you're capable of…_

A slight smile tugged at Mina's lips, remembering how she and Blake would console one another in their failures when they'd been young, whether they had been in training or in operation.

_Then again… practice makes perfect…_

"She's taking a long time… I hope nothing happened…" Miss Rose fretted aloud.

"Peace, Miss Rose, surely headmaster Ozpin would not send us on a crusade beyond our abilities," Mina assured her, smile broadening, "and even if some harm were to befall her, I would have heard it,"

"Maybe," Miss Schnee allowed, "But what if you _do? _I don't like the idea of her being out on her own…"

"Your concern does you credit, Miss Schnee, but she is a big girl," _And this isn't her first hunt. _

As if summoned by Mina's assurance, Blake returned to deliver her report, "Beowolves, lots of them,"

Miss Xiao Long whistled, "Damn Mina, those ears of yours are sharp,"

Mina shrugged, drawing two of her stakes, "It's what I didn't hear, Miss Xiao Long; no birds, no insects, all clear evidence of Grimm in the vicinity,"

Blake cleared her throat, "East northeast, at about six hundred yards away, just over that hill,"

"That close?" There was a suppressed note of panic in Miss Schnee's voice, "Shouldn't they be after us by now then?"

"They're stalking us," Mina answered, as though simply commenting upon the weather, "Consider who is predator and who the prey; we are here to hut the Grimm, yes, but the hunt is all they know," There was a light rustling of cloth as several heads no doubt turned to scrutinize her, but nonetheless she went on, "They will wait until either we appear vulnerable or it dawns on them that we are aware of their presence."

There was a brief silence before her dearest spoke, voice enticing in its reluctance, "She's right… I… and probably Mina could get the drop on them, but if we all move on them, we can forget about surprise,"

Mina turned around, orienting herself based on the proximity of the other's voices so as to face the group as opposed to the outside, "I concur with Blake's judgment, what say you Miss Rose?"

"Um…" Ruby's voice betrayed her nervousness in much the same vein as Miss Schnee's concerns, clearly uncomfortably sending two of her teammates into danger while she stood by and waited, "You're sure we can't-,"

"Let us provide you with an advantage in this battle Miss Rose," Mina urged her, ensuring that her own speech betrayed nothing resembling an ulterior motive, "We can retreat back over the rise if it becomes too much, at which point you and Miss Schnee can cover our withdrawal,"

"You're sure you'll be okay Blake?" Miss Rose asked, the sound of her hood shifting signaling her having cocked her head, "Promise you'll be okay…"

"Sure Ruby, no stupid risks,"

"Alrighty then, go get 'em," Miss Xiao Long said approvingly, though the barely perceptible suggestion of envy laced between her words provided Mina a measure of satisfaction.

"Right," Blake confirmed, and the two of them set off, quickly and quietly.

* * *

"Are you satisfied?" anyone else would barely have heard Blake speak, let alone what she said, barely audible murmur that it was. Mina Carfax however, was not most people, and Blake knew that she was heard, "You've got your alone time; a pity that it's on assignment,"

"You seem to be avoiding me since Saturday night, my dear Blake," Mina's response was slightly louder than Blake's question had been, but not having quite such acute hearing, Blake had to strain to hear, "I'd thought for certain that you'd changed you mind but…" she sighed with only partial sincerity, "again I am forced to what opportunities present themselves,"

"Stay focused Mina,"

"But of course,"

Blake got the at once frustrating and… _distracting _impression that Mina was teasing her, as though humoring an errant child, "I mean it Mina; no one gets hurt today,"

"Of course not," Mina responded, adjusting her heading to avoid a bare tree, "I'm hut that you'd eve suggest such… _unpleasantness…_"

_Like hell you are!_

They halted just shy of the crest of the hill, at which point Blake approached Mina. They were too close to chance speech at this point, and so hand signals were the only option, and shrewd as she was, Blake knew Mina wasn't about to let an opportunity like this slip by using her semblance to sense Blake's motions. Blake took one of Mina's hands in her own, pressing it back to Mina's chest, and then stretching it out to the right by way of instruction, and then pulled the hands to her own chest and forced them both to gesture in the other direction to indicate that she'd be moving the other way so as to catch the pack in a pincer between them. Mina nodded her understanding, then, to Blake's shocked surprise, pulled her close, stroking her from her breast down to her hip as though Blake were actually a pet kitten, and stole a kiss.

"For luck," was all she whispered, despite their proximity before moving off to get in position.

Blake stood there frozen for a moment, occasionally twitching as she went from startled surprise to pleasure to impotent fury at yet another act casual violation and finally the begrudging realization that she had enjoyed it.

_I… I still want… No Blake, focus!_

Shaking her head and pushing the insidious thought aside, she took a deep breath and sprang into action herself, quietly drawing the Gambol Shroud.

* * *

Mina slid three of her stakes home into the steel rings at the end of three of the spools of razor wire wound within her left gauntlet as she stood, her back to one of the bare trees that was all that separated her from the pack of snarling, slavering beasts that prowled the snowy clearing, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

_Now then my dearest, just like we used to…_

Mina took another deep breath closed her useless eyes, and activated her semblance. Suddenly she was perfectly aware of everything that mattered; absolutely everything within thirty meters was in realm of second sight. Thirty Beowolves, twenty-six leafless trees, and not so much as a moth otherwise; She smiled, running her fingers over the stakes and arming the driving charges on the head of the stakes as she readied to throw them.

_Show me how you've grown… _A sly smile, _aside from the obvious…_

Taking hold of a low branch, Mina vaulted up to an elevated position on an upper bough and hurling first one, then two, and finally all three of the stakes, thusly impaling the nearest three Beowolves, letting them collapse as she reclaimed the missiles by flicking her wrist and activating the reels. She caught all three of them in her left hand and licked her lips, baring her fangs as the pack turned its gaze upon her.

_Come and get me. _

The first slavering monstrosity bounded up to her tree, clawing its way up the trunk in a blood-frenzy. As it's gaping maw drew level with her chest however, Mina took two of the stakes in her right hand, taking firm grip on the third in her left, and rammed the sharpened end through the beast's eye, shattering it's skull and staining the trunk of the tree red. Teasing out the necessary slack as the second Beowulf drew near, she slung it downwards with a sweep of her arm, causing the wire to catch on the monster's throat. She then dropped backward off of the branch once the stake began to swing upward and wrap about its neck, and as she landed she heaved back with her left arm, rapidly tightening the wire around the Beowulf's neck until it so tightened that it's head was hewn off by the constricting razor wire. Catching the retracting stake, Mina took an instant to sense the status of the charging pack afresh as the less hasty members of the pack closed in.

_Three more in the lead, followed by… _Her smile broadened still further, _Oh my dear Blake… this is for you… _

In short order the leading three Beowolves were stumbling at the impact of the sharpened steel protruding from their ribcages, save the one positioned in the middle, which had caught the weapon instead in the flesh of its forearm. Mina waited for only an instant for the next wave of the pack to catch up, then moved her right hand over her left wrist, fingers playing over three buttons sending an electrical signal up the biting garrote wires and igniting the Dust-operated charges affixed to the stakes. In a spray of red mist her three immediate targets erupted in in bones and blood, slumping down into the shallow snow in bloodily mangled heaps to reveal the next four victims having been thoroughly impaled, two of which by a single stake.

She yanked the weapons back and withdrew into the trees a few dozen paces, embedding one of her stakes in the trunk of each of the nearest three trees. The frenzied predators failed to spot the trap however, as they continued to charge and Mina let out more and more slack whilst she continued to backpedal, until she finally locked the reels, pulled her left arm back and simultaneously twisting her gauntlet as much as possible. Her efforts were rewarded in spades as the bloody wires wound together in utter disregard for the seven Beowolves charging between, causing the ill-fated beasts to go to pieces in possibly the most gorily literal fashion.

… _Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen… _She took stock of the remaining enemies within the scope of her awareness, _they certainly are eager, ah well…_

Mina ran forward again, pulling the nearest two embedded stakes from the trees in which they were embedded, then drew the final cord taut as the next two of the growling hunters broke the tree line, thus allowing them to rather efficiently separate their own legs from their torsos. Stepping over the still-writhing bodies, Mina pulled the last stake from its resting place and in one graceful movement drew all three out of their housings at the end of the wires, stowing them in her hip pouch, and then threaded her fingers into the loops instead, drawing out a length of the cords in time to garrote and decapitate the next pouncing monstrosity.

* * *

Blake shredded what had to be the fifteenth Beowulf she'd killed with both the blade and sharpened sheath of the Gambol shroud when she judged that it was time to withdraw. She hadn't been expecting the sound of explosives from Mina's side of the clearing, that must have been new, but what certainly wasn't was the unnerving sound of shrieking and gurgling… There was generally plenty of that when Mina fought her battles… However efficiently they mowed down the Beowolves, there were always two more for each that fell. It was time to pull out.

"Mina! Time to go!"

Blake winced at the thunderous noise as another cloud of blood and fire bloomed across the way, but Mina had clearly heard, as she could be seen sprinting for the hill, leading a trail of dazed Beowolves in her wake.

_Right, time for me to move too. _

Blake found herself drawing nearer and nearer to Mina as they ran nearly in arm's reach by the time they reached the near base of the hill, "Any injuries?" she asked breathlessly as they started the panicked ascent, howling Grimm snapping at their heels.

"None dearest, you?"

"Don't call me that!"

"You love it," Mina teased, seemingly unfazed by the slavering horde pursuing them, "Nineteen,"

"What?"  
"Nineteen kills, you?"

"I didn't keep-,"

"Don't give me that,"

Blake rolled her eyes, _This is not the time… _"Fifteen, maybe sixteen,"

"Then I win," Mina licked her lips as they reached the crest of the hill, "We can discuss my prize later,"

"Mina-!"

Blake's objection was silenced as a slug from Crescent Rose hurtled between them, shattering the head of the closest Beowulf. As the two of them started down the hill again, their flank was hammered by shafts of bright blue light, blooming into jagged mounds of ice as they collided with the horde. About halfway down the hill, a streak of blonde hair rushed past them, up the hill, tailing a battle cry. Looking up from the base of the hill now, Blake saw Yang holding back the center of the horde in a flurry of fists and flame, her flanks covered by the recently solidified Beowolves who'd fallen victim to Weiss's first volley. There were still too many for her to hold back at the front though, and a few of the smarter beasts poured over the rise off in either direction. Back to back, Blake and Mina readied themselves for another fight, but as they drew near, red and white surged to their aid, Weiss impaling the closest Beowulf on the left and Ruby liberating a beast's head from it shoulders on the right.

"We've got your back," Weiss assured.

"Take a minute to catch your breath," Ruby agreed, "We've got this!"

"Much obliged Miss Rose," Mina let her stance relax, opening her eyes, "We'll only need a moment,"

As Weiss and Ruby nodded their acknowledgement and got back into the fight, Blake turned back to Mina, "Did you overdo it?'

"Perish the thought," Mina smiled, resuming her fighting stance, "I was just getting a feel for the new surroundings,"

"That was quick,"

"The surroundings are simple ones," Mina shrugged, "My ears should suffice from here,"

* * *

What followed was a storm of steel, Dust, fire, and petals. What had once been a daunting horde gradually crumbled until only a handful remained, snapping and barking from their surrounded position on the hillside. Another moment and even they were no more, as Miss Rose hewed them down. All that remained now was quiet and the enticing scent of blood.

"Mission accomplished!" Miss Rose cheered over the sound of the Crescent Rose folding up.

"That was… a… thing," Miss Xiao Long nodded, speaking between gasping breaths and shaking the soreness out of her arms.

There was a slight clicking sound, Miss Schnee opening her scroll, no doubt, "I'll inform Professor Ozpin and call for an airship,"

"No objections here Princess,"

"Awesome job everybody!" Miss Rose's cheerfulness was cute, but perhaps a touch grating as well, "And Mina… Wow… It was awesome to actually _see _you fight this time!"

"Why thank you Miss Rose, I am flattered,"

"So it's stakes and wire _and bombs?"_ The eager girl pressed, "you weapon, I mean,"

Mina could practically hear the awed expression on the young leader's face, "So it is, Miss Rose, but for now, I think we could all do with a break… and perhaps a shower…."

* * *

Blake heart rate accelerated as Weiss, Ruby, and Yang filed out of the shower room and back to the dorm, leaving her and Mina alone. The soothing heat of the water flowing over her was little comfort as her blood ran cold, fighting her conflicting instincts. She _knew _that she should leave while she still could but… _she didn't want to… _

Mina was facing away, not that it mattered; an hourglass was an hourglass regardless of which direction one viewed it from. There was silence but for the driving torrent from the showerheads as Mina rinsed the last of the shampoo from her silken hair and ran the bar of soap over the perfect skin of her shoulders…

_No! No no no no NO! _

But her voice wouldn't obey her mind, "H-hey Mina…"

Mina tilted her head in token of acknowledgement, though she didn't speak, and went on to scrub her other shoulder.

"C-can I… wash your back?"

Wordlessly Mina held out the bar of soap by way of invitation, and Blake found herself shutting off her own showerhead and moving over, despite the screaming warnings inside her head. She took the bar from Mina with one hand and laid the other on Mina's shoulder as she gingerly lathered her back. Her flesh was firm but her skin was smooth as her fingers brushed over it, recoiling initially at the unintended contact over and above the soap, but as her hand moved down to Mina's hip, Blake let her fingers fall back into contact with the velvet skin around the edges of the bar. Her heart beat so loud that she could barely hear the shower running even as it continued to beat down on them.

Mina let her head loll backward to rest on Blake's shoulder, her hair draping down over it, "It's alright my dear Blake, feel free to touch,"

Blake's heart stopped.

"You know how I feel dearest; I do believe I've made my… _position _very clear…"

"Was t-this what you had in mind-," she swallowed, "for y-your _prize_?"

Mina chuckled, reaching up with one had to stoke Blake's cat ears, "It might be… but then…"

She stepped away, and Blake couldn't fight the urge to reach for her as they separated, "Wh-?"

Mina turned to face her, a smug smile baring her fangs and narrowing her pale blue eyes, "That is much better,"

"What-, Why?"

"You misunderstand, my dear," Mina came close again, wrapping her arms around Blake's neck, pressing their bodies together and whispered seductively into Blake's ear, "You _know_ you want me now,"

The bar of soap slipped from Blake's fingers and clattered to the floor, "I-, I-, No, I can't,"

"Of course you can," Mina wouldn't hear it, "If you didn't want it, you'd have left with the others…"

Blake swallowed, tilting her neck to the side, stretching out her neck to Mina, giving in, "Please…"

Mina chortled as she licked up the side of Blake's jugular, causing her to shiver, "I remember when _I _had to beg…"

"Please just do it!"

Blake winced as she was obliged and sank her fangs into the base of her neck, just above the collarbone. Blake's breathing grew heavy and labored as the pain sent a surge of adrenaline through her body, and she raised a hand to hold Mina's head close, fingers weaving into her hair, the other sliding about Mina's hip and coming to rest on base of Mina's hourglass. Blake pulled Mina closer still as she gave herself over to the rush; the superficial pain was a small price to pay… she'd missed this so much…

Mina drew her teeth from Blake's flesh and pulled her into a long, slow kiss as the blood welled up at the two little wounds. Blake found herself in a satisfied daze as Mina forced her tongue past her lips and explored the inside of her mouth. The taste of her own blood was… _exhilarating. _

As Mina continued to assert herself, the two stumbled towards the wall, legs entangling and slipping to their knees on the slick, wet floor. Mina broke the kiss off as Blake's back was pressed against the cold tiles, instead returning her lips to the streaks of blood running down from Blake's neck. She let out an involuntary moan as she felt Mina's tongue lapping up her blood from where it flowed down her breast and working her way back up to the bleeding wound, and then back up to her lips as they pressed ever tighter together. Her hands moved of their own accord from the back of Mina's knees up to her rear, the small of her back, around to her well-defined stomach, and finally to her lover's heaving chest, even as Mina held her head in place, forbidding her from parting their lips with one hand and teasing Blake's inner thigh with the other.

"I… I don't want…" Blake pathetically lied as Mina withdrew her tongue for the first time in nearly a minute, "I can't…"

"Shhh…" Mina silenced her with two fingers pressed to her lips, "We both know that is not true, the sole difference between us is that I _accept what I want, _but you…" Mina leaned back, mulling over her words with a look of frustrated impatience on her face, "I've made it so easy Blake… but if you desire something… dearest, you must needs _take it,_"

Blake stared dumbstruck, desperately wanting more as she admired Mina's body, glistening with streams and droplets of warm water but…

"Blake…" Mina leaned in again, but this time it was to whisper into her ear again, "I want your body, yes, but I want _more than that… _I want _you _along with it… However you may let me have my way with your flesh, _that _is something that you must _give me; _I can't _take _it myself… Therefore, I need you to take what _you want _from me…. Show me how much you still love me…"


	7. The Little Lost Girl

**Author's Note: Okay, backstory time, I hope you enjoy, and please, let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions, speculation, or confusion; I won't spoil future events, but I'd be happy to entertain helpful suggestions and constructive criticism. Do enjoy.**

Blake had the dorm to herself the next evening; Yang and Ruby had dragged Weiss off to some fancy restaurant that they wanted to try, ostensibly because they just wanted to spend time with her, but the Heiress had quickly deduced that it was her wallet they needed more than anything else. Despite this, Weiss had eventually been coaxed out with them through a combination of begging sucking up, and thus the three of them had departed nearly an hour ago. Mina… Mina hadn't come to the dorm yet; she had been receiving additional instruction after classes so as to compensate for her inability to read the texts, so she said anyway, and thus she seldom returned earlier than nightfall. Blake suspected that Mina's 'additional instruction' was in fact a thinly veiled effort to keep an eye on her, however, as the sessions were always conducted by either Goodwitch or occasionally Ozpin himself, but though she was certain that they knew, just as Mina had suggested, they didn't act. Whatever the case, Blake was the sole occupant of Team RWBY's dorm room at the present, which was good, because it meant that there was no one around to see her break down.

She'd tried to deny it to herself when she'd first seen Mina wearing the Beacon uniform that day, but Blake had missed her, and both of them knew it from the first. It wasn't that easy though; Mina was at once a source of comfort and solace yet also a living embodiment of everything that she had come to Beacon to escape. Mina was still with the White Fang, and what was worse, she had been very much on board with Adam's 'new direction.' She'd always been of the practical sort, and she'd needed little convincing after the first time a train bombing had resulted in the frightened clearing of crowds before them to agree to the more violent approach. It was the people like Mina that had brought Blake to the eventual decision that she couldn't do it anymore, and yet… among all the memories that made the decision so difficult, there too she also was, and Blake had been utterly unprepared when she'd come back into her life.

The simple fact of Mina's presence had been a blow to her resolve in itself, but knowing Mina as she did, and loath to lose her new teammates-, _family, _ had helped to keep her desire in check for fear that Mina might do them harm. But then she'd had to lie; she might've exposed Mina's identity to her teammates, but when Weiss broke under the weight of guilt for her conditioned prejudices, Blake had been forced to choose between Weiss' growth as a person and a roll of the dice on Mina's intentions. Even when Mina had delivered her veiled threat and stolen their first kiss in too long, Blake had managed to delude herself into thinking that she could keep her in check, but after the incident with Yang…

And now there was last night.

It was a hollow, guilt-filled rationalization, and she knew it, but Blake nonetheless told herself that maybe, just maybe by giving Mina what she'd _personally _wanted_, _Mina would be persuaded to overlook her unwillingness to leave her new life behind. She couldn't fool herself though; it hadn't been a self-sacrifice… she'd wanted it _just as much… _

She curled up on her bed and just hid under the covers, shivering and feeling ashamed of her own weakness. She _knew _that Mina was a danger to her Teammates; nearly _murdering _Cardin in their practice match on her first day had been a warning, not an accident. She _knew _why Mina was here and that she would not leave until she was satisfied, and she _knew _that Mina would say or do anything that she deemed necessary to achieve her ends, but even knowing all that, Blake _still wanted he, _and it made her sick, but it hadn't always been that way.

* * *

They'd met ten years ago; Blake had been holding a sign at a protest she thought it had been in Vale, but she wasn't sure. What set this one apart in her memory was not where it had taken place, but rather the horrifying sight of a willowy Faunus girl her own age being viciously kicked to the ground. In an instant she'd thrown down her sign and run over to help the stranger girl up as some of the grown-ups rushed forward to restrain the bastard. All the while the man raged about how the 'rabid little bitch' had bitten him, but it was not until she'd helped the little girl slip away into a nearby alley that a startled Blake had realized that this had indeed been the case, as evidenced by the blood trickling down from her lips.

"_Did you… did you really bite him?" _She'd asked nervously.

Still whimpering and tearing up, and without looking up from the ground, the visibly emaciated girl whispered, _"Yes… b-but… I'm so... hungry…"_

Little Blake had chewed her lip at that, pity gnawing at her stomach, and then decided to fish a granola bar out of the pocket of her threadbare jeans to offer it, _"Here… how about this?"_

The other girl had looked up at her for the first time then, and Blake remembered how surprised she'd been to see how unnaturally pale the girl's blue eyes had been as she'd sniffed the snack, but only shook her head.

"_But aren't you hungry?" _ Blake had asked, confused and frustrated by the rebuff.

The girl had sniveled and shaken her head again, _"Mommy said… said that we couldn't help it… it wasn't our fault and we could show people that we weren't bad… but…" _

Blake hadn't understood, _"What do you mean? I know that some of the big people are mean… but you can't try to eat them when you're-,"_

"_Mommy said that too… but one day… she… she didn't wake up!" _She'd burst into tears.

Puzzled, Blake had tried to calm her down, but had been unable to come up with anything better than an awkward hug, _"What are you hungry for?"_

The other little girl sniveled again, wiping the tears from her eyes and a dirty grey sleeve, _"Blood…"_

It had been only then that little Blake had noticed the prominent fangs in the other girl's mouth, _"B-blood?"_

"_Everything else makes me sick…"_

She'd hesitated for only a moment, but then rolled up her sleeve and offered her wrist to her new friend, _"Here,"_

"_Hmm?" _ The girl had cocked her head confusedly.

"_Go ahead…" _Blake had braced herself, squeezing her eyes shut, but the pain didn't come, _"Aren't you gonna… you know?"_

"_W-what?" _the girl's pasty face was confused.

"_Can't you see I-,"_

The other girl shook her head, _"I… I don't see anything…"_

Blake had lowered her arm in disbelief, _"You're blind?"_

The girl with the sightless blue eyes merely nodded.

Blake took her by the wrist and moved the other girl's hand to her exposed forearm and lifted it to her lips, _"You can… I'll… help you…"_

The willowy girl's eyes had gone wide and she spoke in a tremulous voice, _"Really?"_

Blake nodded, but then realized that the gesture was meaningless to her, _"Yes; my name's Blake by the way, what's yours?"_

"_Mina…"  
_

* * *

That had been the first time. She still had the scar from the clumsy, starving bite. Mina had been taken in by the White Fang after that, just like Blake, and soon they were the best of friends. The two of them had tried to keep Mina's needs a secret at first, but after Blake had begun to grow increasingly anemic the grown-ups had caught on quickly enough, and soon a different person volunteered to feed her each day. After Blake had recovered though, they'd been inseparable.

Some five years later though, things started to change within the White Fang. Many of the older members became increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress, and when the founder stepped down… They got Adam. It started with robberies, then retaliation for violence and discrimination against Faunus in kind, and by the time that he'd led them to kidnapping and train-hijacking, it was too late to go back.

Not that Blake had known that at first; she and Mina hadn't been involved in the leadership-, at twelve years old they'd been immersed in survival and combat training. It hadn't been anything like an ordinary combat school though; their training, and that of the other children under the 'protection' of the White Fang since Adam assumed control had been of the practical variety. No classes, no textbooks, no theory. The only manner in which it _had _resembled Beacon was the sink-or-swim attitude; not unlike Beacon's initiation, they were thrown into struggle after struggle, expected then to survive. Through all this Blake and Mina had stuck to each other like glue, at first to ensure that poor, sightless Mina made it through, but as she'd learned to use her preternaturally sensitive ears and discovered her semblance, she swiftly begun to pull her weight. Working together they got better and better at what they did, slaying Grimm, pilfering Dust, and other 'odd jobs' as Adam had called them. Every day they'd train, they'd fight, they'd steal, and when the day was done, they'd curl up together and Blake would read aloud to Mina, who'd listen with rapt attention.

Their first _real_ mission came when they were fifteen; the two of them had been sent to blow up an automated Schnee freight train. On reflection, Schnee trains were easily among Adam's favorite 'targets of opportunity,' but at the time, they just knew that once on the train, they had to work their way to the engine, place the charges, and get out, and that was exactly what they did. Quiet as shadows, they slinked their way forward from where they'd boarded at the back of the train, keeping out of the view of the cameras and moving across the roof of the cars as needed. Just as the rest of the train had been, the engine was empty but for the consoles when they arrived. Relief had flushed over them prematurely as they placed the satchel bomb that they'd been provided, setting it to go off in ten minutes, but then, Mina's hand had accidentally brushed against one of the automated control consoles, and all hell broke loose.

Sirens blared and a security turret dropped from its mount in the ceiling. They didn't pause to let it open fire; in an instant they were back out of the care and were scrambling up to the roof on the ladders on either side of the coupling section. Yet there had been no shelter atop the train either, as each car had several exterior turrets, which opened up on them. Blake wasted no time in drawing her Gambol shroud to deflect the oncoming fire as Mina struggled to extend her special awareness through her semblance to find an escape route while fighting the agony hammering away at her ears brought on by the alarm and the roaring of the train over the tracks besides.

"_Mina…"_

"_I… I can't focus!"_

Blake had risked a concerned glance back over her shoulder to see that her friend was on her knees, trying desperately to cover her ears as tears streamed down her pain-stricken face, _"Mina!"_

There had been a bridge coming up overhead, and just as she was going to suggest that they escape onto it, her focus slipped, and a salvo of turret fire slammed into her side, which caused her stumble and slip over the side of the train and tumble into the gorge alongside which the train ran, and over which the fast-approaching bridge crossed.

"_Mina!" _Blake's desperation had gotten through the screaming noise to reach Mina, and struggling to her feet, she drove a stake through the rings fixed to the ends of several of her spools of wire and slung it down after Blake. Blake still remembered how the mixture of relief and pain had felt as the lengths of razor cord came into contact with and subsequently wrapped around her arm, biting into her flesh even despite her aura. Her vision had gone red as her fall came to a sudden halt and she dangled at the end of Mina's cutting lifeline, but she had been dimly aware after a ten-second eternity that she was no longer being dragged along, but rather being slowly winched up until a sobbing Mina heaved her onto the ties of the overhead train bridge.

"_I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry Blake!" _Mina had managed to utter past choked sobs, _"It's my fault-!"_

Heart hammering in her chest, Blake tried to sit up as her vision returned gradually and the shrieking alarms and rattling of wheels receded into the distance, _"I… I'm okay Mina…" _she had tried to reassure her, but winced as her arm moved, causing the lengths of the Sanguine Heart to bite into her arm again, sending another few trickles of blood running down.

"_I'm sorry Blake-, I didn't know what to do! I-, I didn't want to lose you and I-!"_

"_It's okay Mina… You saved me… thank you,"_

Mina had sniffled, the tears coming to a stop, and the embraced Blake, _"I was so scared… I want to know how the story ends…"_

Blake had been puzzled by this for a moment, but then she'd recalled that they had on chapter left of the book she'd been reading aloud the previous night, and then realized further that Mina didn't actually care about the book, _"Mina… why don't you… It'd be a waste to just…" _Blake's next turn to be Mina's donor wasn't for days, but that didn't much matter at this point; she was bleeding either way.

A perplexed expression had come over Mina then, but she understood, and nodding gingerly, Mina set about clearing the blood from Blake's arm, trying visibly to resist the urge to bite as she lapped up the blood and Blake's severely reduced Aura slowly closed the lacerations. Even as Mina fed, though, Blake could see that Mina remained broken up about having caused her injury, so as Mina moved up to the highest of her cuts on her upper arm, Blake ran her fingers through Mina's hair whispering assurances that it was okay, that she was forgiven.

Mina had tensed at the new contact at first, but soon she relaxed as she lapped up the last of the blood Blake's arm. Finished, she wrapped her arms around Blake, tears welling up again.

"_I… I love you Blake…"_

Blake had returned the embrace, _"I love you too Mina…" _

That had been their first kiss… It tasted of tears and Blake's own blood, and she would never forget it, no matter how bad things got.

* * *

After their mutual confession, though, Mina became exceedingly protective. She took on more and more of Adam's 'missions' by herself to keep them from being assigned to Blake, and her temper grew increasingly short with their fellow members of the White Fang where Blake was concerned. More than once Blake had needed to physically restrain Mina form doing harm or worse upon any of their peers that so much as criticized her too harshly in Mina's presence. It seemed to Blake that, having resolved _never _to allow her to come to harm again, Mina was becoming increasingly cynical and suspicious of virtually _everyone _other than herself, well, everyone she should have trusted anyway, but nonetheless, Mina threw herself completely into the cause.

It was in the Blake's last two years with the White Fang that Adam had started ordering the bombing of soft targets, and the desired results were nearly instantaneous. Blake found on the occasions when she walked down the streets of Vale that concerned mothers, and other fearful pedestrians cleared away before her and most any other Faunus they saw, for fear of White Fang retribution. They weren't being trodden upon any longer, this much was certainly true, but it just felt _wrong… _

Mina however, didn't seem to understand, _"As long as you're safe, dearest," _she would always say as the violence continued to escalate, _"I don't care what it takes…"_

Gradually though, Blake had begun to come to the conclusion that she couldn't live like that; the White Fang was supposed to win the Faunus _respect, _not terrified deference, but few others seemed to care about or acknowledge the difference, and what hurt most was that Mina wasn't one of them.

The last straw had been Adam's disregard for the passengers' lives on the train job in Forever Fall; no matter how much it hurt, Blake had decided that she had to get out, that she couldn't do it anymore… So she said 'goodbye.'

Now though… What had it all been for?

* * *

Mina Carfax sipped her virgin Bloody Mary with a satisfied smile on her lips. The blaring music and hammering beat would've been enough to give her a migraine without her earplugs, but as it was, she couldn't complain. She'd gotten what she'd wanted, and the drink was simply sublime.

Alas, her persona satisfaction was not the axis around which the world revolved, and she had not come here solely drink a toast to her personal victories, "Please, Mr. Torchwick, have a seat,"

There was momentary silence, but the smug crime lord took a seat at the barstool next to her, "They told me you were blind, Blue Eyes,"

Mina smirked, "They told you right, Mr. Torchwick; I am simply… observant,"

Though she made no move to suggest as much, Mina had tapped her semblance sufficiently so as to be aware of the three yards immediately surrounding her from the moment she'd entered the club; she wasn't keen on a repeat of the spill she'd gotten last time, however… _accommodating _the consequences had been. It was thus that she'd been aware of Torchwick despite her hearing being reduced to only slightly sharper than most on account of the earplugs.

"Fine," Torchwick allowed before continued in hushed tones, "But they _didn't _tell me that you were keen on screwing around,"

Mina chuckled, "Hmm…perhaps not, but then…."

"Look Blue Eyes," Torchwick's put a hand on the bar and leaned closer, "I don't know what you're doing up there at Beacon, and frankly, _I don't care, _but what I do know is that you've been given a _very simple _task, and you've yet to get it done,"

"I'll have her in due time-,"

"That wasn't the job!" Torchwick barked under his breath, "She needs to be _dealt with!_"

"I assure you Mr. Torchwick," Mina took another sip from her drink, a note of smugness creeping into her smile, "I have been very… _busy…_"

Roman Torchwick sat in puzzled silence for a moment, and not that Mina would notice, his eyes narrowed as he spoke again, "Take some free advice Blue Eyes; it's one thing to enjoy your work, but if you mix business and pleasure too much, _both _will come back to bite you in the ass,"

"I'm flattered, Mr. Torchwick, but I'm taken,"

"Oh shut up!" Torchwick was nearly too angry to maintain his whisper. "Don't _fuck with me _Blue Eyes-!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Mina teased, regardless of Torchwick's frustration, "You aren't my type,"

It was plainly a mighty effort of will for Torchwick to restrain himself from slamming his fist on the bar, "You don't want to be serious about this? Fine, but you'll only get this warning _once: get the job done. _It'd be a damn shame if a beauty like you met with an unfortunate accident-,"

Mina laughed aloud, drawing a few startled looks, "It's amusing that you should say that, Mr. Torchwick, but trust me, blackmail works better when you _intimidate _the subject,"

"Laugh it up Blue Eyes, but it's not _me _that you need to worry about; you're Adam's _bitch, _and he'll be the one to deal with you if you _fuck this up. _Three days; otherwise you best have one _damn _good excuse. Do we understand each other?"

"But of course,"


	8. Not So Different

**Author's Note: Alright readers, first, let me first apologize because this was supposed to be posted sooner, but I've been having internet issues, then account issues, and errands got in the way... At any rate, this chapter's a little fluffier than previous; hopefully you enjoy it. As always please let me know what you think in reviews or PMs; I'm especially interested in your opinions of Mina - her personality, behavior, etc. Enjoy. **

"Hey Blake, we're goin' shopping! Wanna come?" Yang asked as the other members of Team RWBY prepared to leave, "We're gonna see about puttin' some color in Mina's wardrobe,"

"Shopping… No thanks, it's not… not my thing…"

"Oh come now Blake," Mina teased flirtatiously, "You can pick my new bra…"

Blake's ears twitched, but she bit her lip, "Just… something other than black, okay?"

Mina made an exaggerated pouty face, "Well that's no fun, dearest,"

Through all this, Weiss busied herself collecting her scroll, wallet, and purse, trying not to pay attention, _Ruby's going to have a field day with that sketchbook of hers…_

Mina had come out to the whole team the previous day, casually announcing her interest in Blake. The other Faunus had done her best to seem surprised, but Weiss didn't buy it; oh, Blake had been surprised alright, but not by the confession in itself so much as by the fact that it was vocalized, if Weiss judged correctly. It had been an awkward evening; Ruby had been dumbstruck by the sheer ease with which Mina had put herself out there like that, and if Weiss was not further mistaken, Yang seemed… disappointed. Weiss herself hadn't been sure what to think; as the Schnee Heiress she'd long since resigned herself to the prospect of an arranged marriage and the obligation to produce an heir herself, so she'd never put a great deal of thought into romance; it was a distraction, as Father might say. Certainly she knew how to present herself and others; a Schnee lady was always to be presentable, but that was less personal statement and more of a mechanical obligation. She'd certainly put a great deal more consideration into her relationships with her friends and teammates since coming to Beacon, but… never like that… All told, the subject was just alien to her.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" Ruby however, was plainly excited to get underway.

"You're certain that I can't… _persuade you _to come along?" Mina asked Blake for a final time, "I can make it _worth your while…_"

"Easy there, big girl," Yang stepped between her, and then added with a devilish smirk, "We can talk about... _persuasion _while we're out…"

Weiss turned around, hands on her hips, "Don't worry Mina, I won't let Yang make all the choices,"

"Well now who's no fun," Yang complained, much to Mina's amusement.

"And I promise that you may choose _something, _Miss Xiao long, don't worry," Mina cracked a devious smile.

Weiss let out a sigh, _This is going to be a long day…_

* * *

_It had to be the lingerie shop first, didn't it? _

The heiress mightn't have minded so much if it weren't for the fact that they'd been here for nearly an hour now. She could understand the desire to look one's best, she shared it after all, but this whole episode seemed somehow ironic given whom they were shopping for. Even had Mina not been utterly blind, it seemed a bit ridiculous to agonize so long over something that no one was supposed to-,

_Oh dear…_

Yang had shoved Mina out of the dressing room wearing naught but something entirely too lacey.

_Perhaps hot pink is her color though…_

"Miss Xiao Long, I would appreciate some warning next time!"

"Nope! It's gotta be like this Mina; the Princess has to take a look 'cause _apparently I'm not trustworthy!"_

The satisfied smirk on Yang's face as she followed Mina out did not escape Weiss' notice, "Yang, I do think that she can put the next one on by herself,"

"Now where's the fun in that?"

"I could help her with the next one…"

"Ruby, you're not helping!"

Ruby's shoulders drooped at the scolding, as did the embarrassingly scant set of red lingerie she'd been holding, "But…"

"Ruby, put that away, it's positively _indecent!_"

"It's not like she wouldn't wear anything over it…" Ruby grumbled, but obeyed nonetheless.

"Besides Sis," Yang added, producing an equally revealing yellow set, "Red would clash with her eyes… or… somethin' like that…"

Weiss glared at her, "You are a horrible example, you know that?"

"Pfft, fine," Yang set the undergarments aside, "We'll do it _your way… _Hey Ruby! Find a white set for-!"

"That is _absolutely _not the point here!" Weiss exploded, ushering Mina back into the changing room and shutting the door behind them, "I'm sorry about that Mina; they get carried away… it runs in the family I guess… _I'll _help you,"

Through the door, Yang could be heard grumbling and walking away, presumably to find another selection of lewd options, and so it was with a relieved and apologetic sight that Weiss continued.

"Again I apologize on their behalf Mina…"

The blind Faunus smiled, "None are needed; although I do seem to recall that _you _said I could handle dressing myself…"

Weiss blushed, "Um... Well to be honest I hadn't thought of it when I pushed you back in here; I was just trying to get you out of public view and-,"

Mina chuckled, "Rest easy Miss Schnee; I suspect no ulterior motive. At any rate, Miss Xiao Long was not terribly… _organized _about… _dressing me… _Perhaps you could help me sort out which of these that I've already tried on," she gestured at the mountainous pile of underwear that Yang ad Ruby had piled into the cramped dressing room, "Actually that would be incredibly helpful… because I honestly have no idea…"

Grateful for having been given the out, Weiss nodded out of habit, "Sure,"

Gingerly, and further reddening with each increasingly indecent piece, Weiss sorted through the assorted lingerie tossing aside the dozen or so that she recognized as ones that Yang or Ruby had already forced their poor teammate to try on. When she was done, well, the remaining selection was still daunting, but not so massive as it had been.

_It's like they shoved the entire store in hear… at least… all the D's… _

Glancing back up at the barely-dressed patiently waiting Faunus with whom she currently shared the cramped space, feeling a touch inadequate as she tapped on the wall above the as-yet untried pile, "These are the ones you haven't tied on yet; I'll… I'll step out…"

"No, no, please; stay," Mina shook her head, slipping out of the hot pink brassiere, "Someone needs to tell me how these look; if you step out, I'll have to as well, and frankly, I doubt either of us want that…"

"Um…" Weiss averted her eyes, "Maybe I could just wait outside until you finish changing though-,"

"Nonsense," Mina shook her head again as she set about putting on a new bra that matched her eyes, "If you step out, Miss Xiao Long or Miss Rose might… invite themselves in…"

Weiss swallowed, "Right… That one… looks niche I suppose…"

"You don't have to flatter me, Miss Schnee; I have no opinion as to what it looks like; feel free to tell me if it looks awful, because I've only got the basis of comfort to go by…"

"It's definitely one of the more modest choices, and it matches your eyes… I'm not sure about your hair though…"

Mina took it off again, cocking her head slightly, "Is something wrong, Miss Schnee?"

Again Weiss averted her eyes, "It's just a bit… claustrophobic in here… Although now that you ask, I suppose it's just a bit weird to stand here while you change…"

Mina laughed again, "Do you like what you see?"

"I've been trying not to look…"

A disingenuous look of hurt supplanted Mina's expression, "I'm hurt…"

"It's… not like that…" Weiss tried feebly to assure her, "I'm just not…" She searched for more tactful words, but found none, "You're pretty-, no, beautiful, but I'm, well… straight…"

"Ah," Mina acknowledged as she slipped an arm though the straps of another piece, "Fair enough; what do you think of this one?"

This one was a lighter pink, "I'd give that one a pass…" Weiss shrugged, "Anyway, why do you care what _I _think if you're… _interested _in Blake?"

"We are friends are we not?" Mina asked with a smirk, "That aside, I _am_ a bit of a tease… It's a flaw of mine, I admit…"

_A bit? _Weiss hadn't forgotten Mina's 'high-born virgins' 'joke,' "I guess I just wouldn't have expected to be in this situation when we first met,"

"What? Sharing a cramped space with one of us half-naked?" Mina snorted to suppress her laughter, "I'll admit that the notion _had _crossed my mind…"

Weiss was suddenly rather uncomfortable again, "You're not serious…"

Mina shrugged off the pink bra, "You have a lovely voice, Miss Schnee; that's usually what I go by where first impressions are concerned,"

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief as Mina tried on another bra, "I'm flattered… I guess… I just wish I could've been fairer to you when we first met,"

Mina cast the current undergarment aside, judging uncomfortable, "Miss Schnee, I don't begrudge you your anxieties; perhaps _you _should let them go as well," she sighed, "Believe it or not Miss Schnee, we aren't so different, not really; I may not have been born with your wealth, or good eyes, for that matter, but regardless of that, we both have our hopes and fears, as do all. To chastise one for her fears is senseless; we are friends now, are we not? There was nothing to forgive Miss Schnee; don't let this weigh you down,"

"Not so different huh?" Weiss found herself sizing up the taller girl with whom she shared the little closet, quickly averting her eyes yet again as her view reached Mina's bare chest, "Maybe… but all the money in the world can't buy good genes…"

Mina looked momentarily flummoxed by the remark, then it occurred to her and she set the next bra she was about to try down again and she stepped closer to Weiss, backing the Heiress into the wall of the changing room.

"Um… Mina… What are you doing?"

"Peace, Miss Schnee; this will only take a moment,"

Weiss's breath caught in her throat as Mina's fingers played through her hair and slowly worked their way downward. She found herself blinking rapidly as Mina's hands cupped her cheeks and the taller girl's fingers ran gently over her eyes, nose and lips. She felt her heart beat faster as Mina moved her hands down to her shoulders, her chest, stomach, and hips. Mina cracked a smile.

"In your position, Miss Schnee, I'd be in no hurry to trade my _eyes _for a few extra centimeters about the bust,"

Weiss blushed again, "I… um… sure.. but did you have to feel me up for that?"

Mina cocked her head, "I had to get an impression of your-,"

"You could just have asked…"

A sly smile tugged at Mina's lips, "That must have slipped my mind,"

* * *

"Now wasn't that fun?" Yang asked, weaving her fingers together behind her head as they walked out of the store, "Now… which place do we hit next? You gotta get some color _other than the unmentionables, _right?"

"Certainly," Mina agreed, "But methinks I needn't buy _six _additional blouses as well…"

"Yes, Yang," Weiss shot the brawler a dirty look, "I think perhaps you should compensate Mina for the extra four that you _forced _her to buy!"

"Pfft, come on! Sexy is its own reward… or somethin' like that…"

"The lacy one goes with your eyes…" Ruby offered gingerly, a dopey look on her face; she was no doubt imagining it as she spoke.

"That was not so much a garment as-,"

Weiss' fuming objection was interrupted as Yang's scroll went off, "Hold on guys, Blake's messaging me… I guess she got the pictures…"

"You took pictures?" Weiss demanded, "That is so wrong, I… I don't even know where to begin!"

Mina didn't seem offended though, instead raising an eyebrow at the mention of Blake, "Did she like the pictures?"

"Mmmm… She doesn't say," Yang scrutinized the text message, "But _apparently _she needs a hand…" She sighed, "I gotta head back to Beacon; enjoy yourselves ladies, but don't have _too much fun _without me; oh, and let me take those home for ya Mina,"

Mina gratefully passed the bag to Yang and like that, the blonde took off, headed back towards the airship station.

"What do you suppose Blake needed?" Ruby asked, head tilted, "'cause I just thought she was studying… and Yang's not…."

Weiss shrugged, "Perhaps she wants to read one of the books they've got holding up Yang's bead; I'm sure they can handle it, whatever it is,"

"I concur; Blake and Miss Xiao Long are perfectly capable," Mina agreed, "So then, where to next?"

"Perhaps lunch?" Weiss suggested, "After that, there's this nice boutique downtown; I feel kind of bad for letting Yang talk you into buying all of… _those… _so I'd be happy to buy you an outfit… something tasteful,"

"You don't have to do that Miss Schnee, though I appreciate the offer,"

"No, I insist; I think you've spent enough money today…"

"Can we get cookies with lunch?" Ruby asked, bobbing up and down much as Nora could often be seen doing, "Or maybe just cookies _for _lunch?"

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Ruby, what you eat on your own time is your business, but _I _will not be complicit in your quest to acquire diabetes by the age of _sixteen_; I'll treat, but we're going to a classy little bistro-,"

"Actually," Mina cut in, fishing a few twenty Lien bills from her wallet and handing them to Ruby, "Cookies sound nice; why don't you take this, Miss Rose, and go buy a few dozen from the bakery by the square; you can message us for directions after,"

Ruby's face lit up like an eager little girl on her birthday as she snatched the money, "Oh you are AWSOME Mina!"

Weiss couldn't muster so much as a word before her team leader vanished in a flurry of rose petals, "Ruby!"

"Oh let her go, Miss Schnee," Mina patted Weiss on the shoulder, "I had something else in mind anyway…"

* * *

Yang's brow furrowed as she entered the dorm.

_Odd… did she fix the bed herself after all?_

"Blake?"

"Thanks for coming,," Blake said from off to the right, seated at her desk, "I have a confession to make…"

"Huh?" Yang tilted her head in confusion, eyes narrowed, "What do you mean, 'confession?'"

"I-,"

Yang's scroll rang again, "Hold on, it's Ruby; I gotta take this,"

Blake chewed her lip as Yang answered the call, but was silent.

"Hey sis, what is it, I _just _got back so-,"

"Did Weiss and Mina go back to the dorm too?" Ruby's voice sounded a bit panicked, "Theysaidthatwe'dgotoabistroorsomethingforlunchandthatIcouldcall fordirections'causeIwasgettingcookiesbutnownobody'sansweringtheirscrollsand-,"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down Ruby! What's going on?"

"I can't find Weiss or Mina!"

Blake was up from her chair in an instant, "Oh God no, please no…"

Yang glanced up at her partner, and seeing that she was white as a sheet, she asked, "Blake, what's going on?"

"It's Mina…" Blake grabbed her weapon and strapped it to her back, and then raised her voice so as to be heard by Ruby on the other end of the call, "Ruby, where did you last see them?"

"Um… the lingerie store… I headed for the bakery right after Yang left,"

Blake visibly winced; her instinct would have been to scold Ruby for letting Mina out of her sight, but she didn't because she was the only one who knew what Mina was capable of., "Okay, meet us there, alright?"

"Sure… but what's this about?"

Blake swallowed as she pictured Ruby's puzzled face, and saw that Yang had caught on the urgency of the situation, "Mina is… she's with the White Fang…"


	9. Lions and Sheep

Weiss awoke to find herself propped up against a cold stone wall, wrists and ankles tied. She was stiff, and her head was hammering. Once she acclimated to the immediate unpleasantness, however, she became very aware that Myrtenaster was missing from her hip.

"What? What's going on?"

"My apologies, Miss Schnee," she knew that voice, "but I have a schedule to keep, I'm sure that you understand,"

"Mina? What is this?" Weiss demanded as she struggled with her bounds.

"Those, Miss Schnee, are called bindings," Mina smiled from where she was seated in the windowsill, "I can't have you running off now,"

"I can see _that much,_" Weiss couldn't resist rolling her eyes as she tried to stand, failing miserably, "But why do you have me tied up like this?"

"I do recall mentioning that I prefer high-born virgins," Mina shrugged.

"You didn't-,"

"No, but it was certainly a temptation,"

Trying to ignore that last remark, Weiss shook her head as she remembered struggling for air earlier, "You tried to strangle me!"

"Yes, I was worried about that to be honest," Mina sighed, "I was worried that I'd killed you for a while there,"

"Stop joking Mina!" Weiss demanded, "I don't understand-, I thought we were friends?"

"Yes, friends," Mina smiled, though with her back to the dusk outside the bay window, her facial features were barely discernable from where Weiss was slumped across the room, "I do hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me for this," she stood, and walked across the room and crouched in front of Weiss so as to be face to face, reaching forward to stroke Weiss's hair and cheek, "It's a pity, but I presently have need of you,"

Weiss's eyes widened, "You… You _are _with the White Fang, aren't you?"

Mina smiled broadly enough to bare her fangs, "Yes Miss Schnee; for what precious little it may be worth, you were right to suspect me, it's just such a pity that you decided you wanted start trusting people,"

"But-, but what about Blake? She-,"

"Should've noticed?" Mina's smile took on a sad quality, "She did, but alas, my dear Blake required some… _persuasion… _to acknowledge me… And I suspect that she did not share her knowledge for fear that I might do something like this… The irony of it all…"

The longing tone in Mina's voice didn't escape Weiss's notice, and she tried to jerk away from Mina's fingers, currently running through her hair, "You're here for her?"

"Very astute," Mina stood and stepped away, "We have a mutual acquaintance who's not keen on loose ends, you might say,"

"But then why-?"

"Is it not obvious, Miss Schnee?" Mina cut her off, "You are bait,"

* * *

"What do you mean 'she's in the White Fang ,' though?" Ruby was horrified, "She won't... You know..."

"And how long have you known this?" Yang demanded, grabbing by the collar and forcing her to make eye contact, "Be honest with me Blake,"

Blake nodded, swallowing, "I know her from when I was with the White Fang… We were… close…"

"So why didn't you report the bitch to Ozpin?" Yang shook her, "Or at least tell _us?_"

"I-,"

"Blake-!"

"No!" Ruby shouted, cutting Yang of before she could get into the swing of the reprimand, though equally ignorant of the various other passengers of the airship, "Can we worry about fault later? I just wanna rescue Weiss!"

Yang gritted her teeth, "Fine," she turned back to Blake, "but you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do when this is over,"

Blake nodded, "Mina's probably got her somewhere quiet; somewhere she can take full advantage of her ears-, probably a condemned building in a less-trafficked part of the city,"

Yang pulled out her scroll ad began searching various maps of the city as Blake continued.

"Weiss should be fine for now; she's after _me-,_"

"But then why would she kidnap Weiss?" Ruby demanded, "she could have taken _Jaune _and we still would have come for him-,"

Blake shook her head, "True, but that would've involved Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora; plus, on the off-chance that we didn't respond, she'd still have the Schnee heiress. Mina is a planner; she doesn't leave things to chance,"

"Oh yeah?" Yang snorted, "Well she can take her plan and shove it!"

Ruby nodded, more worry on her face than anger though, "But we have to find her first,"

* * *

"Look at it this way," Mina offered, resuming her seat in the bay window, "When word gets out that the Schnee princess has been kidnapped, I'm sure that that the chairman will send someone after his daughter. Not that we'll be here long enough for that,"

_I will not be cowed by a pack of damned animals!_

Weiss laughed bitterly, "I doubt it,"

Mina raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"My father didn't ransom _his own brother_ after you kidnapped him,"

"Hmmm…" Mina seemed to consider the words a moment, but was ultimately unmoved, "Such would indeed serve to explain why the man finds himself rapidly running short of relatives,"

"So that's it then? You don't care?" Weiss demanded, incredulously, wholly unprepared for the answer.

"Precisely,"

"What? Then why kidnap me?"

"Simple, Miss Schnee: _I_ don't personally care whether he does or doesn't respond, but there are those above me who are more… _optimistic..._" There was a pause, "would you like a drink?"

Baffled, Weiss looked at the flask being held up in the light, "Are you kidding me?"

"It is not poisoned, if that is what worries you,"

"No!" Weiss shook her head, "You've gone so far as to tie me up, dragged me _God only knows where, _and hold me hostage, and yet you're going to offer me a drink like we're still _friends?_"

Mina sighed, "I suppose that was too much to hope for…" She stood again, "But friends or no, it's been some time since you've had anything to drink Miss Schnee, and we may be here a while yet; I cannot have you succumbing to dehydration," Mina held the flask to Weiss' lips, "Now, be a dear and drink,"

She was thirsty, so despite herself, she drank deep, spluttering as the flask was withdrawn once empty, "Thanks, I guess," She said bitterly, uncomfortably aware of the droplets of water rolling down her chin and neck.

Mina smiled again, "Violent antipathy is no excuse for a lack of civility,"

Weiss couldn't help but laugh bitterly, "Are you serious?"

"Why would I not be?" Mina challenged, "I am in control here, and I have nothing to gain from treating you with disdain that I do not feel, Miss Schnee,"

Weiss furrowed her brow as she looked up at the bat-Faunus as she walked back to her seat at the bay window; Mina was certainly right that _she _was the one in control of the situation here, but surely she'd misspoken, "What do you mean?"

"Precisely what I said, Miss Schnee," Mina answered as she sat down again, "Although that has admittedly been a rarity of late, I suppose…"

"But doesn't the White Fang hate us?" Weiss asked confusedly, "If you didn't, why all the kidnapping and _murder?_"

"_The White Fang _does hate you, rather passionately, it must be said," Mina allowed, "But its members are not _all _of one mind,"

Weiss' eyes narrowed, "Not you then? But then… why this?" She raised her bound wrists for effect, "What's the point?"

"You see, Miss Schnee, some time ago it was decided that protest and petition were getting us nowhere," Mina explained patiently, "SO more… _drastic _measures were resorted to; and since then, progress had been more readily forthcoming,"

"But that doesn't-,"

"I'm not finished, Miss Schnee," Mina cut Weiss off before she could finish, "What ultimately motivates the White Fang at the very root, is of course the desire to be regarded on equal footing with humanity, and this, coupled with years of frustration, becomes a crusade for revenge in the name of 'justice,'"

The note of contempt slipping into _Mina's _voice was puzzling, "You sound like you…"

"Like I do not approve," Mina laughed, "Perish the thought; my contempt, Miss Schnee, is reserved not for the violence you see, but for the pathetic delusion of justice,"

Weiss was very confuse now, almost to the point that she'd forgotten that she was presently bond and propped up against a dusty wall in a poorly lit room, "So you don't even believe in the justice of your cause?"

"Consider this, Miss Schnee; does the ruin we most certainly made of your childhood in any way fix or compensate for the subjugation of the Faunus?" Mina shook her head, "Of course not; but in all honesty, Miss Schnee, any who consider the circumstances rationally will find that practicality is the guiding star of the White Fang; the vaunted notion of _'justice' _doesn't enter into it, no matter how one attempts to deceive oneself. Violence has thus far served the stated goal of the White Fang most effectively hereto, Miss Schnee, and so this has remained the preferred modus operandi,"

"How… How can you even say that? It's… It's horrible…"

"Hardly; It's merely the way of nature, Miss Schnee," Mina shook her head, the surprisingly patient look on her face better illuminated by the light of the one candle in the room now that the sky beyond the window in which she sat was dark, "Consider this: where is the sense to be found in a shepherd who rages in 'righteous' indignation at the lion which savages his sheep?"

Weiss didn't quite understand, and was silent.

"You see, Miss Schnee," Mina continued, "Never was a man or Faunus a slave who did not _allow _himself to be; there always exists a choice, not always an attractive one, I grant, but a choice nonetheless. The sensible shepherd, you see, draws his sword against the offending beast, which shall in turn use tooth and claw to rend the shepherd's flesh and bones, and to the victor go the spoils; it simply is what is. One expecting those with whom he or she is in conflict to respect his rights, life, and livelihood assumes the role of bleating, powerless sheep, at the mercy of whomever emerges victorious,"

"So… all the bloodshed and… It's… it's all _nature _to you?"

"I don't expect you to understand, Miss Schnee," Mina allowed, then seemingly changed the subject, "I've joked about my _blood _preferences, but the underlying reality is that I _do _in fact require to feed upon the blood of others to survive; there are few proper foods that do not cause me wretching illness; would you say than that I am evil for being burdened with such a need, rather than based upon my actions?" she grinned meaningfully, "Though I suspect, given present circumstances , the answer would be the same either way,"

"I…"

"Understand, Miss Schnee, that nature is an ugly place that cares nothing for your, or anyone's notions of right and wrong; I begrudge neither you, nor your father, nor anyone else for that matter, for the oppression to which I was born," Mina elaborated, "I am not so deluded as to think that humanity would be treated equitably were our positions reversed; the true altruist is a rare, and sheltered breed,"

"I suppose you expect me to approve of your actions then?" Weiss snorted, finally collecting herself.

Mina chuckled, "Not at all; my point, Miss Schnee, is that we all have our own wants and needs, and that conflict between them is simply inevitable, thus it is wholly irrational to waste one's own time and energy condemning actions taken by others in pursuit of such when that effort could more… _usefully _be spent seizing one's own ends and needs..." The enjoyment faded from her face as she walked over again, "although… Speaking of my personal needs… It has been some time since I have fed…"

Weiss tensed, "You're going to-,"

"Yes…" Mina nodded as she crouched before Weiss again, "And no, I won't pretend to give you a choice in the matter, Miss Schnee; you are free to struggle if you so desire, but in the spirit of whatever friendship we did or didn't have... I warn you that this will be _much _more painful if you do…"

**Author's Note: Well, there it is, Mina's worldview in nutshell. I'm interested to know what you all think of it, so please let me know in reviews & such if you have an opinion that you're willing to share. I hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to the next one. **


	10. My Punishment

"You really think this is the place?" Yang asked flatly.

On a barren hill overlooking the eastern outskirts of Vale stood a condemned old abbey built of hewn granite. The grey edifice seemed to suck what little light remained out of the waning dusk as it stood vigil above them, a gravestone in the night. Oaken doors hung open before the three members of team RWBY like a gaping maw.

Ruby swallowed, "Creepy…"

"It's too far from anything else for anyone to scream… If I know Mina… This is the place," Blake nodded, feeling more than a little apprehensive herself.

"Screw it!" Yang growled in frustration, deploying Ember Celica, "I'm gonna go in there and drag some answers outta her!"

Blake grabbed hold of Yang's arm to hold her back, "We can't rush into this Yang!"

"Yeah? Why not?"

"Blake! We have to go rescue Weiss!" Ruby chimed in with concern.

"I almost _lost an arm when she saved my life,_" Blake said in a level tone, "One too many missteps… I won't take a thousand cuts to end you… Any of us… We need a plan,"

* * *

"Do you hear that, Miss Schnee?" Mina asked leaning back against the side of the glassless bay window, "It seems that our teammates have come to rescue you,"

"I don't..." Weiss winced; speaking aggravated the fresh wound on her neck, but she didn't have to finish.

"No, I suppose that you wouldn't; they're still hesitating by the entrance by the sound of it."

_At least they found us... _Weiss thought to herself, _Ruby, Yang… Be careful... And Blake… you owe me some answers…_

She couldn't focus on the thought though, the throbbing at the base of her neck was too much, and the still-damp bloody patch of her collar added further discomfort. She'd tried to resist at first, but Mina had been right; as the Faunus had pulled her close and sank her fangs into her flesh just above the collarbone, struggling had caused unnecessary laceration and pain. When she'd finally given up and squeezed her eyes shut though, the feeling of Mina's lips and tongue on her neck mixed with the pain made her skin crawl. The sense of violation and betrayal was worse than the pain.

Fighting back the pain, Weiss managed to speak again, asking a question of her own, "Do you honestly think-," She winced again, "Do you really think that _this _will convince Blake to go back to the White Fang with you?"

Mina sighed, "No,"

* * *

Blake and Yang stepped cautiously over the Abbey's threshold and into the yawning black inside. There were no lights, and though Blake could see, Yang needed time to adjust to the dim. The place smelled of dust, decay, and damp stone, and it was cold. Silently, Blake motioned for them to search the rooms starting leftward rooms. They moved together though; Blake knew better than to split them up when Mina had time to prepare. Systematically, they searched room by room, weapons drawn as they cleared the first room floor to ceiling, and then the next room.

It was at the threshold of the third room that Blake had to catch Yang for the first time before she stumbling into a razor-wire haircut, "Careful," she cautioned, gesturing to the wire, "You see that?"

Yang snorted, "I can barely see my hand in front of my face,"

_That's exactly what she's probably going for, _"She's set up traps,"

Yang squinted at the place Blake had indicated, "Just looks like some spider silk…"

"You _did _see what she did to those Beowolves, right?"

Yang huffed, gritting and ducked under the strand, "Alright… Now let's get this done,"

"Shhh!" Blake hushed her partner, "If you _must speak, _then keep quiet; we don't need to make it _easier _for her to hear us," _Not that it will matter once she decides to take us on…_

As they cleared they swept the rooms of the first floor in a clockwise progression though, Blake was puzzled and suspicious at the relatively few traps that they ran across. Yang had nearly lost some hair at another point when she'd stubbornly tried to pick up the pace, but again, Blake caught her just in time. Furthermore, what few traps that were placed on the ground floor were positioned similarly so as to merely prove annoyances, rather than inflict significant bodily harm.

_She's toying with us… _

Eventually the two of them found themselves back in the abbey' main foyer, faced with the ascending main staircase. Blake made certain to lead this time, taking slow, deliberate steps upward, watching carefully for the telltale glint of the silvery wire in what little moonlight that came into the building. With each step she became more and more aware of the sound of her own footsteps, near silent though they were; each one might be the one that made Mina decide to activate her semblance and take action. The slow pace would prove crucial, for mere feet past the top of the steps had been spun a web of blade-wire so convoluted as to be nearly impassable.

_Nearly._

* * *

"It would seem that Miss Xiao Long has reached the top of the stairs…" Mina commented absently, "Any moment now…"

"Mina…"

Weiss' captor shot her a curious glance, "Yes, Miss Schnee?"

"Please… Don't hurt them…"

"Miss Schnee, I prefer not to make promises that I don't intend to keep,"

"You can't beat all of them," It was a statement, as much of defiance as of fact.

"And I won't need to," Mina responded patiently, "One should suffice,"

"Mina please-,"

"Rest easy, Miss Schnee," Mina lifted a palm to her lips and score herself with a fang, just deep enough to draw blood, "No one bleeds alone tonight,"

* * *

"Remember," Blake whispered, "Mina's semblance is absolutely _perfect _special awareness, so don't bother trying to surprise her; just keep the pressure on,"

It felt wrong though, somehow, telling Yang how to attack Mina; Weiss needed help but… This was Mina… the little girl she'd met ten years ago in the alley…

"We gotta _find her _first,"

They were rapidly running out of places to look though.

Suppressing the internal conflict though, Blake held Gambol Shroud at the ready as they approached the last place they hadn't looked: the large chamber which dominated the north end of the floor, its door cracked ever so slightly ajar. A little more moonlight was visible through the crack, but nothing else; Mina wouldn't need anything else.

Blake scrutinized the door carefully, but to her confusion, found nothing out of sorts; not wires, no rigged explosives, no trap of any kind so far as she could tell. Still, it was with no undue caution that Blake pushed open the door to see Mina lounging patiently in a broad bay window.

"Hello Dearest; I've been waiting for you,"

Blake held up a hand to stop Yang from charging in, _Maybe we can still fix this… _"Where's Weiss?"

"Miss Schnee?" Mina gestured off to the near wall at the left of the entrance, "Right there; she is free to leave, provided, of course that you come home with me,"

"Like Hell!" Yang shouted, "We're _taking _the Princess back and then I'm gonna _knock some sense into you!_"

"I would advise a touch more restraint, Miss Xiao Long; do examine Miss Schnee's bindings carefully," Mina smiled amusedly, raising her left hand and tapping her wrist with two fingers, "Although, if you wanted a few more Strawberry Sunrises, I'd happily be your enabler,"

Blake drew in a sudden breath glancing over to the heiress as suggested. At a glance Weiss's wrists and ankles appeared to be bound by some kind of polymer cord, but then recollection dawned on her from her own days in the White Fang. _Primer cord. _

"Mina, don't do this!"

"I already tried reasoning with her Blake," Weiss muttered bitterly, "but then I suppose you'd know better than I how to deal with her,"

Blake looked away, _She's got every right to judge you for lying to everyone, _"Mina," she begged, "I'm already yours; what more do you want?"

"_Screw this!" _Yang forced her way past Blake and rushing in full tilt.

"Yang, wait!"

It was too late though; by that time Yang was halfway across the room, and Mina was on her feet. Mina ducked the first punch, the blazing shell from Yang's gauntlet firing harmlessly out the window as Mina pivoted behind the blonde on the right side, pulling several lengths from the Sanguine Heart.

_Decision time Blake. _

She was in. Hefting Gambol Shroud, Blake lunged to intervene, putting her blade inside the ring formed by Mina's arms and the as-yet short span of the Sanguine Heart and twisted, pulling upward so as to wrest control of Mina's weapon away, but Mina instead simply let her fingers slip out of the rings at the end of her wires, allowing them to retract unimpeded as she sprang back to avoid a roundhouse kick from Yang.

"Dearest, don't make me do this," Mina's misty blue eyes seemed saddened, "There is no need for it, but if Miss Xiao Long insists, I will defend myself,"

"Why are _you _doing _this?_" Blake demanded, not understanding, "I don't get it!"

Yang wasn't about to wait for an explanation. She planted her feet this time and fired off round after round at Mina from Ember Celica, forcing the blind Faunus to dodge, but much to the surprise of all, Yang not the least of whom, Mina's dodge consisted of a forward roll under the blonde's line of fire, springing back up to her feet mere inches from Yang's face. Blake had barely caught the move, but her eyes went wide having seen that, before standing, Mina had reached around Yang's left shin and pulled Sanguine Heart again behind Yang's ankle.

"Yang-!"

"Miss Xiao Long…" Mina spoke as a startled Yang reclaimed her wits, "I do apologize for this,"

Mina pivoted, heaving upward with her wires and throwing Yang off balance. As Yang struggled to catch herself on her hands and spring backwards onto her feet again, Blake moved to attack with an overhand stroke which Mina caught with a cat's cradle of biting garrote wire, "Dearest..."

Refusing to meet Mina's eyes, Blake swung her sharpened sheath in an uppercut, forcing Mina to step back. Swinging Gambol Shroud in a wide arc, Blake launched the blade at the end of its ribbon-like tether, seeking to bind Mina where she stood. Mina did a backwards summersault away from the weapon though, slamming a stake through one of the Sanguine Heart's rings as she leapt, and pitching it downwards as she reached the height of the jump, embedding itself in the floor and causing the Gambol Shroud's ribbon to catch and wind about the deadly spider-silk. Blake activated the pistol function on the Gambol Shroud's hilt and took aim in the absence of her blade, but before she could fire, Yang dashed forward again.

"Dammit Mina!" Yang shouted, driving a fist through the empty air where had an instant earlier been Mina's head, "Why'd you have to go and pull something like _this?_" Mina pivoted around behind her again as the blonde tried to elbow her, and failing that, catch her with a roundhouse kick, missing as well, "You know, _I liked you!_"

As Mina kept close to Yang, moving just so as to keep at the Brawler's back, Blake couldn't get a clean shot. The weapon shaking in her hands, Blake realized that she didn't want to… She had to… but…

"Hold still!" Yang growled in frustration, wheeling about and launching another high kick using the force of the turn, "Maybe we can still be friends _once I've beaten the crap out of you for being so stupid!_"

Mina moved with the turn though, going around the side on which Yang still stood, and in an instant she was behind Yang again, facing Blake now over the blonde's shoulder. Blake's eyes wend wide at the sight of the three glinting strands stretched across Yang's jugular, and furthermore, the fourth strand winding around Yang's leg, torso, and left shoulder; the one that was connected to stake that also held Blake's own weapon. Blake could pull hard enough to unwind the ribbon, true enough, but what would that do to Yang?

"Time to choose, Dearest," Mina stated, a note of finality in her voice, "Either I bring you home, or… There shall be much unpleasantness indeed…"

"Mina…" Weiss and Yang's lives were both at stake now, "_Don't do this…_"

Mina sighed, closing her eyes a moment, but never relaxing the wires poised at Yang's throat, "Dearest, do you not understand? Everything I've done, I've done for you,"

"How the hell do ya figure tryin' to kill her friends-," Yang's angry question was cut off as one of the wires nicked her neck, drawing little droplets of blood.

"I have always been the 'monster' that feeds on the life-blood of others, Dearest, they're free to call that; it's true enough," Mina continued, "They can spit upon the ground I tread; it matters little and less to me,"

"Mina…"

"But _you _always wanted the humans' respect, so I fought to give it to you,"

Weiss snorted from where she still sat bound against the wall, "Surprisingly unselfish given all you told me,"

"Alas Miss Schnee, it is a bitter irony," Mina admitted, never turning from Blake though, "The one thing I desire is beyond my, or indeed anyone's power to simply _take,_" she paused, and a nostalgic pleading note seeped into her voice, "I want you back Blake, like we used to be,"

"I _can't go back _Mina," Blake shook her head sorrowfully, "All the violence… What they're doing is _wrong – _What _you're _doing is _wrong!_"

"Dearest, I do not understand; why are you so _determined _to reject the means by which what you want can be achieved?" Mina was practically begging now, "The humans respect us more and more by the day, why can you not see it?"

"They don't _respect _us, Mina, if anything, _they fear us-,_"

"What difference does it make?"

"I-,"

"If they stand aside and hold their tongues, then what difference does it make?"

"To win that way Mina... It… It just feels wrong…" Blake finally got it out, "Please Mina, stop this,"

She seemed to hesitate, but the wires didn't slacken, "Dearest, Adam will not be satisfied until you are no longer a loose end; If I don't bring you back, one less fond of you will be sent," She squeezed her eyes shut, and then opened them anew, a gesture more symbolic than anything else, "All you must needs do is return to the fold and all can be forgiven-,"

Blake looked away, "I can't,"

Mina closed her eyes again, kicking the stake free of the cold stone floor, allowing the wire to which it was attached to it to withdraw to her gauntlet, cutting Yang's jacket in places but doing no real harm as Mina released the other three and stepped away from Yang as she caught the stake, "If that is your choice…" she slid the burnished steel stake free of the last wire, "Then I profit nothing from continuing this charade,"

Yang wheeled to confront Mina again, finally free, but found the anger and frustration running out of her at the dejected expression that held Mina's features captive as she continued.

"And so I shall accept my punishment for doing wrong by you,"

Blake furrowed her brow as the room went deathly quiet, "Mina, I'm not going to kill you…"

It was Weiss who understood it first though, "Blake! You have to-!"

Mina didn't let her finish, and spoke with a sad smile, "I am sorry Blake… for being so…" a bitter laugh, "Blind…But as for my punishment… I never said _you,_"

_No! _Blake's heart hammered as Mina raised the weapon to her carotid artery, "RUBY!"

Somewhere in the distance three discharges rang out, and in the same instant, Mina was stricken in the back by the rounds from the Crescent Rose, fired through the bay window in front of which Mina stood. She staggered, the stake clattering harmlessly to the floor, and Blake rushed forward to catch her as she fell to her knees, knocked senseless and unconscious by the force of the impacts.

"None of that," Blake shook her head frantically as she held Mina's slumping body close, "We can work through this… Once you wake up, we can talk this out…"

Yang shot Weiss a look, "You knew?"

"Not that I could do much about it," Weiss remarked bitterly, holding up her wrists, "Now get me out of these,"

"But how?" Yang asked as she knelt down to cut the heiress loose with a pocket knife.

Weiss looked away, "She's a lot like me before I met any of you,"

**Author's Note: Hey all, sorry for the wait, I was tying up "I'm Not Perfect," but now this is my primary focus until I finish it, which, at present, I have planned for next chapter. If you'd prefer this not be the case, let me know, I'm sure that I could think of something if enough people want more. **

**Anyway, as far as how the fight went down, I personally envision Mina's fighting style up close to be something reminiscent of Aang's from Avatar: the last Airbender, that is, heavy on the evasion, circular steps, and pivots, although substituting wire for air-bending as her principle means of counter-offensive, hence why she never makes an overt attack on Yang until checkmate. Incidentally, to any readers who may not know, primer cord is an explosive medium applied to a cord; essentially explosive wire. In fairness to Blake and Yang's fighting abilities though, I tried to write this as though their hearts weren't really in it (pissed off though Yang was) because of Blake's history with her and the preceding chapters that the rest of them spent thinking that she was just their friend/teammate/latest crush (kind of). If her breakdown puzzles you, I'm sorry, but I've been shooting to write her and Blake's relationship as a scenario in which Mina starts extremely dependent upon Blake, when they met, gradually moving into more of an equal roll in their relationship with by the train incident, only to become overbearingly protective after her perception of having cause Blake harm, simultaneously throwing herself into trying to achieve what she thought Blake wanted as a sort of apology. By the time she arrived at Beacon, this was still very much her mindset, albeit she'd developed a bit more of an amoral approach in the absence of having Blake to serve as a moral grounding point, hence her… objectivist/Darwinian philosophical tendencies. Essentially it was the lack of understanding of why Blake left the White Fang coupled with the errant assumption that she was working towards what Blake wanted that allow her to build up self-assured façade she has by the beginning of the story. In all actuality, Blake was pretty much **_**all **_**she'd been living for, and when she finally gets just how Blake felt about what she'd been doing, well… you got the picture. However she may have appeared, her psyche is essentially held together with rationalizations and the emotional equivalent of duct tape. **

**Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter, and if you didn't, well, I haven't got much more planned. A good day/evening/etc. to all.**


	11. Waking Up

Mina Carfax woke up; it was a strange sensation, waking up, finding herself resting on a mattress, warm and comfortable as it was, particularly seeing as she had neither expected nor intended to.

"Good Morning, Miss Carfax,"

Mina tensed at the sound of the man's voice, recognizing it as that of Headmaster Ozpin.

"Easy, Miss Carfax, you're quite safe here,"

"Much to answer for though you have," It was Professor Goodwitch this time.

Mina sat up in the bed, feeling the suspicion contort her features, "I was prepared to do so…" she was very aware that Sanguine Heart was missing, in all its components, "Where am I?"

"The infirmary of Beacon Academy," Ozpin answered, "Your teammates carried you back after the… _incident… _and after a certain degree of explanation, you were left in _my _ care; we have much to discuss,"

"I think not Professor; you know who I am-, _what I am, _and most importantly, _what I've done; _your course of action should be rather self-evident," Mina turned her head between the sources of the two voices, "I have been a threat, and now I am in your grasp to be disposed of as I so richly deserve."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow at this, "Oh really? Much as I agree with Glynda that certain… _measures _are necessary, I hardly think you need pay with your life," he paused for a sip of his coffee, "And frankly Miss Carfax, I don't think that you are in such a hurry to die as you want yourself to think,"

Mina furrowed her brow, "What are you playing at?"

"Show more respect, Miss Carfax," Goodwitch ordered.

Ozpin didn't seemed fazed though, "Between you and me, and this is pure speculation on my part, I admit, but I doubt that the aura of one genuinely eager to end their own life could have been shield enough to spare your life from a weapon the likes of Crescent Rose,"

Mina stared sightlessly down at her knees, "I… I discovered that I'd been living in contravention of the wishes of-,"

"Miss Belladonna? Yes, and now we come to it," Ozpin nodded thoughtfully as he cut her off, "Congratulations Miss Carfax; you've passed my test, though admittedly, you've probably failed this 'Adam's,"

Mina blinked several times in perplexity, "I beg your pardon?"

"When Miss Belladonna debriefed me on last night's events, and admitted to your history, the subject arose that you believed that my toleration of your presence here constituted a test of _her _character," He chuckled, "A fair enough assumption, for certain, but in all honesty Miss Carfax, I've been more interested in _you _of late, and woefully, _woefully _misguided though your actions were, you acted out of _love, _as opposed to senseless hatred," He took another sip of his coffee, "This does not _justify your behavior, _but it _does _show me that there's hope for you yet,"

"And what better reformatory institution than Beacon Academy?" Goodwitch nodded her somewhat grudging agreement as she posed the rhetorical question.

"Where indeed? That is, unless you'd genuinely _prefer _that we turn you over to the authorities…"

Mina cocked her head, as yet still flummoxed, "But… Why?"

"You can hardly take responsibility for your actions if you're dead, Miss Carfax," Goodwitch stated flatly, "Thus the Headmaster and I have decided to offer you the chance to follow Miss Belladonna's example: become a huntress and dedicate yourself to doing good in the place of harm. You certainly have the skills for it; it would be a shame to waste them,"

"I…" Mina's eyes suddenly widened, "Today… They'll come for her-,"

"The White Fang?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow, "Yes, about them… I have something of a reputation, as I'm sure that you're aware; a sink or swim attitude of sorts as pertains to the initiation of my students as a start-,"

"Let's not beat around the bush sir, frankly it's rather unethical-,"

Ozpin cleared his throat, "My point,_ Miss Carfax, _is that, though you have to _earn _your way into Beacon, once you're here… We take care of our own,"

"I…"

"The options hardly compare, if you want my opinion, but I won't force you to choose right away," Ozpin stood, "For now though, I think that it's high time that we let your teammates come to visit you, seeing as you're awake. Come Glynda; we should leave them some privacy."

Mina sat in silence as the two sets of footsteps receded and the infirmary doors were opened. It was only shortly after Ozpin and Goodwitch's footfalls had fallen silent than the doors were violently thrown back open and a cacophony of footsteps stormed in and suddenly she found both hands grabbed by a startlingly apologetic Miss Rose.

"OHMYGODMINAIAMSOSOSOOOOSORRY!"

After the initial shock had subsided, Mina sighed, "You should not be-,'

Miss Rose was abruptly wrenched as Miss Schnee caught up, and promptly slapped Mina across the cheek, "That's for the damned _bite!" _She shivered before taking a deep breath to calm herself, "That was my favorite jacket…"

"I deserved that," Mina admitted, turning the other cheek, "I do apologize, Miss Schnee-,"

Another strike and Miss Xiao Long heaved her to her feet by the lapel, "I swear, _I oughta beat you…_"

"And you would be well within your rights to do so, Miss Xiao Long,"

"Sis! Let her go! No harm done… not really…" Ruby objected as Yang's eyes flared red.

"Put her down Yang…"

Mina felt Miss Xiao Long's grip slacken ever so slightly as she hesitated, and then roughly set Mina back down where she'd been seated, "GAAAH! I am _so pissed right now, _I could friggin' _pull my hair out!_"

"Mina, look at me,"

Mina obeyed, best as she was able, orienting her face in the direction from which Blake's voice had come, "Dearest-,"

It was Blake's familiar hand to strike her this time.

"Blake-!" Ruby objected again, but Weiss shook her head at the younger girl as if to say _'This is necessary.'_

"I most certainly deserved that-,"

"Damn right you do!" Blake was plainly furious, but it was the hitch in Blake's voice that led Mina to finally activate her semblance and find that Blake was also tearing up, "Don't you _ever _scare me like that _again! _Do you hear me, Mina? _Never!_"

"Dearest, I-,"

"I'm not finished!" Blake cut her off, "What the hell did you think _killing yourself _would fix? Mina, that was just _stupid! So stupid!_" The tears were rolling freely down her cheeks now, "_I love you Mina! _How could you possibly think that losing you would make me happy? Tell me, because I have no idea!"

"I owe you that much in penance-,"

Blake slapped her again, "You know what? No! Just shut up! I'll tell you what you're going to do to make this up to me: you're going to take Ozpin up on his offer, and you are _never, EVER _going out of my sight, do you understand?"

"Ozpin said something about passing a test…?" Ruby was asking, rather than telling, "But anyway, he said you could stay if you-,"

"She's staying,' Blake asserted, "Because it's clear to me that you have to be _my responsibility,_"

"Ya know," Yang huffed, crossing her arms, "It's kinda weird to see someone put all that _give-a-damn _all in _one place…_"

Blake sighed, "That's… That much is at least partly my fault…" she paused, searching for words as she took a seat on the bed opposite Mina, "We were very… codependent in the White Fang… I didn't really understand how things were changing until I resolved to leave, and Mina…"

"Was, as I remain, a parasite," Mina finished staring down again, "To sustain both the flesh and the soul…"

"Don't say that about yourself!" Blake chided again, "She didn't know anyone in the White Fang, and due to her… needs… She was used to condemnation… So when I…"

"She imprinted on you hard, didn't she?" Weiss asked, sitting down herself.

Blake nodded.

"It was selfish of me, yes," Mina admitted it, "She was my _sustenance _in every possible sense… I only wanted to repay that debt…"

Blake looked away, "Even in the White Fang… the only reason anyone else would have anything to do with her was because I started getting anemic…"

"Still doesn't explain why she went bat-shit… That was… a poor choice of words…" Yang trailed off.

"No, it is quite alright," Mina sighed, "Everything in my experience told me that the one thing Blake wanted was our rights… so when she left…"

"You thought I'd given up…"

"And I thought perhaps if the task was accomplished, you would… come back…"

As Mina started choking on the words and tearing up herself, Blake hurried over and caught her in an embrace, "I'm sorry Mina… I'm so sorry… I should have told you…"

In that moment Weiss couldn't help but see Mina as a gifted child, and Blake in a very motherly role; Mina was clearly intelligent, but she displayed an almost complete lack of independent moral sense. Her whole world had revolved around Blake for most of her life, to the point that the mere memory of when they'd been separated reduced the sardonic tease that they'd thought they'd known to wracking sobs, as though a child waking from a nightmare.

"Oh Mina… Don't cry…" Ruby weakly tried to console her, not really knowing what to say, "You're together now… We're all here for you…" She looked hesitantly from Weiss to Yang, both of whom wearing expressions conflicted between sympathy and displeasure, "I think…"

Weiss sighed with a little shrug and nod, "What's a jacket anyway? I can just buy another one…"

Ruby's face lit up a little as she turned to her sister, "Yang?"

Grumbling a bit, "Yeah, fine… But you're gonna have to show me how come I couldn't hit you though…"

"See?" Ruby exclaimed happily, "It's alright; you're forgiven, now let's just be a _team again, _okay?"

Mina sniveled with a little nod, giving a little squeak by way of affirmative, still at a loss for words.

_That is stupidly cute,! _Yang fumed enviously, but restrained herself from vocalizing it.

Once Mina had calmed down, Blake leaned back and did her best to put on a serious face, for nobody's benefit but her own, "We are going to have to make some changes, however; _there will not be another incident like last night, _am I clear?"

Mina nodded, "My life is yours; I'll never-,"

Blake winced, but shook her head, "Good, but I was talking about the _kidnapping,_"

"Yes, I'd prefer not to wake up bound hand and foot against a cold stone wall again," Weiss added dryly.

"Done," Mina hastily agreed, then shot Weiss a teasing look at odds with the tears still drying on her face, "I'll be sure to buy you dinner first next time,"

Weiss blushed furiously, "I told you that I'm-!"

"Atta girl," Yang sat down at Mina's side opposite Blake, patting her on the back, "I kinda missed those jokes,"

"Yang…" Blake said dangerously as she noted the steadily lowering position of her partner's hand on Mina's back, "You're setting a _very _poor example," She tugged Mina close jealously, "and besides… She's mine…"

Yang averted her eyes, "I don't know what you're talking about…"

With a little sigh and a roll of the eyes, Blake looked down at Mina again, "Ozpin said that he'd arrange for you to see the nurse for a blood-pack as needed, and I'll… contribute…" She cleared her throat to steel her resolve, "But from now on you are going to _behave yourself _Mina; no abductions, no _strangulation, _and no… _feeding _on anyone but _me…_"

"Someone's possessive,"

"Shut up!"

Mina nodded with mounting enthusiasm, "Yes, of course, whatever you say-,"

"I'm talking _monkish _virtue here, Mina,"

Mina finally managed a real smirk again, "I'll happily take vows of silence and poverty.." she walked two fingers up Blake's chest, "But we may have certain… _difficulties _with a vow of chastity…"

"Um…" Blake swallowed and looked away, rapidly reddening, "We'll talk about that later…"

Yang whistled despite herself.

"Oh shut up!"

**Author's Note: Okay, so here's the reconciliation and for now, the ending. I say "for now" because I'm in no way opposed to the idea of coming back to this with more chapters of one variety or another, but at the present, I have no such plans/ideas, and so I'm going to tentatively stamp this one 'complete,' but I'll level with you; I enjoy writing Mina Carfax far too much to stick her on a shelf forever, so eventually there will probably be more of this, whether in the form of one-off chapters or a new story arc, but again I don't have any ideas for such at time of writing, so yeah… I certainly appreciate all of you who've taken time out of your day to read this, especially those of you who've left feedback. For anyone interested, the next project I have planned is a Valentine's Day chapter of "For Every Occasion" and a St. Patrick's day chapter in the slightly less immediate future. Thanks for reading, and please, don't hesitate to let me know what you think. **


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